No More Sorrow Part 1 - Summer Break Arc
by Mortifer V
Summary: It has been half a year since the virtual reality death game, Sword Art Online, was pre-maturely ended by the brothers Kirito and Mortifer. It has also been nearly three months since the two of them unraveled the dark secrets hidden inside of ALfheim Online, another VRMMORPG like SAO... (Read Intro chapter for the full summary)
1. Introduction

**To those who have not read both parts of the prequel The Darkness Within, I highly suggest you stop reading this now and go back to the previous story.**

It has been half a year since the virtual reality death game, Sword Art Online, was pre-maturely ended by the brothers Kirito and Mortifer. It has also been nearly three months since the two of them unraveled the dark secrets hidden inside of ALfheim Online, another VRMMORPG like SAO. With ALfheim Online re-established under new moderators of the company Ymir, the virtual reality genre of games continues to thrive, especially with the addition of New Aincrad inside of New ALO. Aiming to beat all one-hundred floors of the floating castle which he used to be trapped inside of, Mortifer and his friends gather once again to reach the 3rd Floor of New Aincrad, allowing them to access the Create A Guild option in their menus. While this happens, Mortifer, Rizer and Cayonz secretly start an immense project that will require them to use up all of Mortifer's funds and more. Soon after, the summer break starts, and Katsumoto will have to face the one thing he fears most in his life right now: Yuzuki Ai's parents.

The story will be using two symbols that have different meanings:

· Single with _italics_ indicate that the word/phrase is either a nickname, an item name, a guild name, the name of a sword skill or magic spell (Eg. _Long Sword The Samurai Wolves of the Full Moon Linear)_

· Double with an underline indicate that the word/phrase is the name of a location, the name of a skill, or the name of an ability of a skill (Eg. Starting City One-Handed Sword Tracking)

 **No More Sorrow** is an original story written to line up with events inside of SAO as much as possible. I try to do as much research as I can, so I do not mess up the original story timeline.

 _Disclaimer_

 _This is a fan fiction. Sword Art Online is owned by A-1 Pictures, Anniplex USA, and Reki Kawahara (the author of the Light Novels). I do not own any part of SAO whatsoever._


	2. Chapter 1: New Aincrad

**(Mortifer)**

 **Inside of New Aincrad, 1** **st** **Floor** **Town of Beginnings**

The plaza is just like how I remembered it to be. At the very center is the Teleport Gate, where all players appear when they teleport to this city. If you turn directly behind you once entering via the Teleport Gate, you can see a plaque with writing on it. I haven't actually read it, nor do I really care about it since it is often just the history of the town. This plaque serves as the base of a large clock tower with a dome-shaped top like the one you see on the Taj Mahal. Also behind the player when they enter the city, is quite possibly the second largest man-made structure in the game – the Black Iron Palace. A purchasable property that was owned by _The Army_ back when we were still in SAO. It is also the location of Black Iron Prison, which will likely not be used since players are more likely to get a temporary or full ban should they disobey the laws of this world. The only other structure that beats that palace, excluding Aincrad itself, is the Ruby Palace at the very top.

Around the plaza is a circular wall with overhangs pointing towards the center of the circle. They are held up by oddly shaped columns which had bronze colors to them. Now that I'm really examining the city, I can see that it is greatly inspired by middle-eastern architecture. In fact, Black Iron Palace is like a sultan's palace, or a very big mosque. Anyways, the wall is separated into two pieces like a semi-circle. This is done so a path could be made that allows players to exit the plaza through one way, or enter the palace through the other one. And if I remember correctly, there is path circling around the wall and the palace that connects all ten main streets in the city. The biggest of the paths which is currently right in front of me leads to the small lake as well as the southern gate of the city. The market district is located behind the palace and is likely going to be the most crowded district in the next hour or so. The rest of the city's buildings are a bunch of player homes, purchasable properties, attractions and completely pointless buildings that can't even be entered or used. Very exciting for the first few visits, but it quickly gets boring afterwards.

"Can we head to the market district?" Violet asked us. "I need to buy new equipment or something."

"I also need to buy some stuff as well."

Everyone in the guild looked Violet and ViVi, who both had the crappy beginner's gear. And while Violet at least had a rapier to use, ViVi doesn't even have a quarterstaff or some blunt weapon he can utilize his Skills with. I looked over to Kirito and his friends who were all fully equipped with decent equipment. My guild is not as prepared as theirs, with only me, Zed, Paradox and Rizer being equipped to do serious battling. The others had their weapons of choice with them, but their armor is weak and not viable. If there were SAO, they would be fine. But apparently, New Aincrad is much, much harder than the original one since you can attempt the bosses as many times as you want without dying in the real world.

"Hey, Kirito." I called out to my brother who turned around to face me. "You guys go on ahead and do whatever. We're heading over to the market district to buy some equipment."

"Okay then. We're going to head out to Horunka and see how far we can get in one session." Kirito stated. I nodded my head and summoned my wings. "See you guys!"

I ascended from the ground and flew towards Black Iron Palace. My guild summoned their own wings and began following me. We had to go rather slowly since some of us were still trying to get used to flying with or without the controller. Because of this, Zed and Paradox decided to take that time to go around and look at the city from a bird's eye view. I didn't shout at them for doing their own thing since I didn't really care. After all, they have their equipment set, and this slow pace is also trying my patience. I need to teach them how to fly as soon as possible, or we will fall behind Kirito and the rest.

We flew over Black Iron Palace and began our descent towards the market district. Nobody has arrived here yet, so we can take our time without needing to wait in line for the NPC vendors. We touched down and looked for the nearest weapons vendor. When we did find one, Zed and Paradox finished their quick tour of the city and have rejoined us in our shopping trip. I took a quick peek at the NPC's item list and determined them to be medium-quality items, just a little bit worse than the expensive ones I saw in Alne. Assuming that this is the basic equipment needed to clear the 1st Floor, then they clearly increased the difficulty of everything two to three times its original level. I turned around and faced my guild.

"Before we buy things, can everyone tell me what they're roles are going to be in ALfheim?" I requested them. "Because of the increased options we have in the game, we can diversify our group up more. Although it doesn't seem like most of us are going to change, except for Paradox, Cayonz, Trish and Aqua."

"I'm still going to be making potions, but now I can use an Undine's healing and water magic!" Paradox proudly stated as she held out her new wand.

"I made a secondary account before making my real one to see the differences between SAO and ALO." Cayonz began speaking. "It seems that my First Aid skill has become rather redundant due to the addition of healing magic. Therefore, I've solely focusing my time and effort into learning Water Magic to use for offensive and defensive purposes."

"That's good to know, but you two will still need some weapon of sort." I told them. "Should you run out of mana points and be forced to fight up close, you need to have some sort of protection other than your staff or wand which doesn't count as a physical weapon."

"Zed already bought me a dagger from Alne, so I'm set there."

"I was thinking of learning how to use a Curved Blade of some sort. A katana maybe?" Cayonz stated. "I don't think whips are that useful anymore."

"I'm pretty sure there's something like that in this shop. Go ahead and check." I told him and he nodded in response. "Konno, I'm assuming you're going to keep using a mace?"

"Yup. No change there. But I do also want to learn some Earth Magic. There are some rather interesting defensive spells I can use…"

"That's good. Paradox and Cayonz can't keep healing us for forever, so decreasing the amount of healing you guys need will help cope with that problem. I determined. I then looked to Aqua and Trish, who were already looking at the NPC vendors' item list. "I already know Aqua is going to use a bow and arrow, but what about you Trish? You picked Pooka for a reason, didn't you?"

"Y-Yes…" She quietly answered me. She held a pan flute in her hands and rubbed her fingers through the creases made by the reeds. "I wanted to be of more use to the team. I'm scared of using actual weapons, so I want to become the group's mage or magic damage dealer."

"Really? Are you sure about that?" I asked her.

"Aw, don't go belittling Trish now Mortifer-san!" Aqua grumbled. She wrapped her arms around Trish's neck and hugged her from behind, making Trish look uncomfortable and embarrassed.

"You've misunderstood me Aqua. I am grateful that Trish wants to become our guild's mage. In fact, I encourage her to do so. I just wanted to make sure she has enough motivation to take on a role as important as that."

"I-I'll try my best!" Trish declared, balling her right hand into a fist. Aqua, who still had her arms wrapped around Trish, grinned widely.

"Very well then. You're now assigned as the guild's main mage. With that out of the way, I still want you to choose some sort of weapon, even if you're never going to use it." I told her.

"I'll just go with a dagger…" Trish requested.

After looking through the various items listed in the shop's catalog, we determined the best equipment for them to use based on their role and stats. Aqua bought herself a standard bow and a quiver that holds up to one-hundred arrows. She also has a small dagger strapped on her rear sheathe. Konno found himself a useable shield and large mace to wield along with it. We have yet to find Trish some sort of magical staff or wand, but we've bought her a dagger for good measure. We found Cayonz a decent katana which he is going to leave inside of its scabbard. Finally, we bought Violet a decent rapier. In fact, the rapier is the same exact rapier I bought her back when we first met in Sword Art Online.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it?" Violet said to me, smiling while holding her newly bought rapier.

"Since we're checking out our equipment and what not, what was that sword you got earlier Mortifer?" Rizer asked me.

"Oh, you mean this?" I asked him.

I opened up my Inventory and scrolled through my list of items. I unequipped my two _Obsidian Blades_ causing the sheaths strapped on my back to disappear. I then equipped my _Buster Sword_ , letting everyone in the guild see it. The large blade materialized on my back. I had a one second grace period before the weight of the blade suddenly weighed me down. I tried unsheathing it, but soon noticed that I didn't even have the required Two-Handed Straight Sword level nor the raw physical strength to wield it. In fact, the blade was so heavy that I had to remove its straps and set it on the ground so I could pull it out from there. I slowly picked up the blade and made it stand on its sharp, triangular tip.

"Jeez, what kind of monstrosity is that?!" Zed exclaimed.

Rizer approached me and tried lifting the blade himself. Due to his higher _STR_ stat, he did a much better job of simply lifting it. However, everyone could see that he too was struggling with the weight of the sword.

"The specs of this weapon are all off." Rizer complained. "The handle is too short, and the blade itself is far too heavy. In fact, it's probably heavier than you Mortifer. If that's the case, then the moment you try to swing this blade, you'll be thrown off your feet!"

"Well, back during my execution day in SAO, I used my chains as a weapon to fight." I recalled. "However, they were being held by other players who were trying to keep me tamed. I threw this one guy around easily and stood my ground despite him being way heavier than me. The game probably has some sort of function that prevents that kind of stuff from happening which is why even the smallest of players can wield heavy weapons."

"Let's hope that's true then, or else nobody can wield that blade of yours."

I slowly set the sword down and slid it back into its sheathe. I stored the item back into my inventory and reequipped my twin _Obsidian Blades_. Sooner or later, I'll get Rizer to upgrade these swords of mine. The material cost is cheap so it shouldn't be hard, but I can only upgrade this a limited number of times. Eventually, I'm going to have to replace these with custom built swords from Rizer, which I'll be looking forward to. In fact, I already have the names I'm going to give those two swords should he make them.

"Everyone is set now, right?" I asked them. They all nodded in response. "Okay. Now it's time for us to split into two teams. ALO has a party size limit of seven, forcing us to split into two parties like in SAO. I'll be the one who will be making the teams. Does anybody have a problem with that?"

Everyone in the guild turned their heads toward Zed, who was staring at me blankly. He noticed everyone's eyes looking at him and became flustered.

"What are you looking at me for?" Zed questioned us, making Paradox giggle.

"Anyways…" I began, ignoring Zed's question. "I will lead Team A while Zed will lead Team B. Violet, Konno, Cayonz and Trish are going to be on my team while ViVi, Rizer, Paradox and Aqua are going to be on Zed's team."

Everyone got into their assigned groups except for Aqua and ViVi, who stomped their way towards me.

"Wait, I want to be on the same team as Trish!" Aqua complained. "And why is she with you? You barely know her!"

"Mortifer-san, please move me!" ViVi begged me quietly. "I'm scared of Zed-kun! He doesn't like me!"

"I-I'm fine being with Mortifer, Aqua-chan…" Trish admitted. I let out a long sigh and scratched my head.

"Look, I put you guys in these teams for a reason. I try to put you guys with the ones you know, but I'm also trying to balance it out here. Violet and I are the damage dealers for Team A, while Zed and ViVi are the damage dealers for Team B. Konno and Zed are best friends, and they work great together, so I don't want to separate them. I respected Zed and Paradox's relationship, so I assigned her to be the healer of Team B. Plus, I know Paradox well enough already. Aqua is the long-ranged damage dealer and support of the team, leaving me with only Trish, who wants to become the group's mage. Plus, if we happen to get into some serious trouble, I can protect Trish far better than any of you… no offense…"

"I would be pissed off if it weren't the truth…" Zed grumbled loudly.

"And Aqua, you already know Trish very well. In fact, because of your time during the Front Lines, all of you guys know each other very well and can coordinate with one another like a real team. But because I worked solo and didn't party up with any of you, I am lacking in the teamwork that our guild needs. I need to build it up as quickly as possible, and I want to get the hard part out of the way by taking in the two most reserved members of the group."

I pointed towards Cayonz and Trish, who stood right next to each other. Cayonz nodded his head slightly, agreeing to the fact that even though I've known him longer than Zed and his original group, he is still one of the members I don't really know all too well. Trish is even worse since she always hangs around with Aqua and was previously scared of me back in SAO. When they found out I was _The Reaper_ , Trish and Aqua avoided me as much as possible, though I can't blame them. If I can't find out how these two are like, then our guild's teamwork won't be perfect. And right now, it seems that everyone, especially Zed, is wanting to make the _Reapers of Sorrow_ one of the strongest guilds in ALfheim Online. Without perfect teamwork, we won't be able to get that title.

"Any more complaints?" I asked everyone. Zed slowly raised his hands. "Why do I have a feeling that this is going to be about something stupid Zed…"

"I want my team to be called Team A." Zed demanded.

Everyone in the guild facepalmed themselves in exasperation. He used to be so serious back in SAO, but now he's just acting more like a kid. Is it because this is no longer reality? Probably... Either way, if he continues to act like this, it may cause problems for us in the future. Not just problems between me and Zed, but even between him and the guild in general. I dragged my hand down my face and looked at Zed with contempt.

"Fine… You can be Team A."

* * *

 **Ten minutes later,** **Horunka**

Getting to the second village of the floor didn't take long due to the game's flight mechanic. We managed to quickly teach the guild how to fly without wings and they are slowly getting more and more used to it. The one struggling the most is Konno because of his heavy equipment, but if I didn't take that into account, then it is ViVi. Anyways, we decided that our goal is to defeat the 1st Floor Boss this weekend alone. Everyone gathered for the big reveal Friday night and even got permission from their parents to be able to stay up to play ALO till early morning Saturday. However, that isn't the case for me, Rizer and Cayonz, who no longer attend school. While traveling here, I spoke to them in English about staying up a bit later with me so I can talk to them about something.

"Come on, let me in the conversation Mortifer!" Violet pleaded.

"Sorry Violet, but I'm keeping it a secret _because it's a surprise for the entire guild."_ I answered her, switching to English at the last sentence for Rizer and Cayonz to pick up on.

 _"_ _A surprise for the guild? Interesting…_ " Rizer mused, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"Trish, can you tell me what they're saying?" Violet begged Trish with imploring eyes.

"I'm sorry Violet-san… My English is not that great either." Trish apologized.

"When I feel like it, I'll teach you guys English a bit more, though you're probably better off asking Rizer or Cayonz about it." I told them.

Our team headed over to the town's only tavern to find out more information about New Aincrad and see if any changes are made. Upon entering the bar, we split up and talked to the NPC bartenders, trying to get information as efficiently as possible. We found slight changes such as the addition of new, more powerful mobs as well as a hint on what the field monster is. According to this one NPC Rizer encountered, the Field Boss is some sort of giant stone guardian, unlike the giant fat troll that was inside SAO.

"At least we found out something." Rizer stated as all five of us exited the bar.

"There's nothing else to do in this town, so we may as well go check out the Field Boss or just explore the floor." I told them. They all nodded in agreement.

We walked down the streets that were starting to be filled up by newcomers. Many of them gave me looks, probably recognizing me as the one who made such a big scene earlier in Yggdrasil City. When they did realize that I was the same guy, some of them didn't even try to hide that they were talking about me. They pointed at me, gawked at me and some even had the guts to see me up close. Just like this guy right here who is holding out a piece of paper and pen for me to write with.

"C-Can I have your autograph Blacky-senpai?" The random player begged.

"Blacky-senpai?" I questioned him, glaring through my mask. I understand I am wearing all black, but that's such a bad nickname.

"Do you prefer another name?" The player asked me. His expression remained neutral, so he must not be able to see my expression that well.

I clenched my fists in rage. I wanted him to leave me alone, but I can't cause another scene in front of this many people. I tried looking at him with irritated eyes, but it seems he can't clearly see them due to my mask. I don't want to take off my mask either since I don't want them to see my face. I looked towards Violet, who moved her head in a way as if telling me to answer the players wishes. I snatched the guy's paper and pen and began writing my autograph on it. I shoved the piece of paper and pen into the guy's chest and continued walking out of town.

"What did you write on that sheet of paper Mortifer?" Rizer asked as he looked back at the people crowding around the person who got my autograph.

"The nickname I want to be called. What else?" I told Rizer.

"What was the nickname then?"

"Oh Rizer…" Violet giggled. "You're really going to ask Mortifer what nickname he wants to be called?"

"I mean, I have two guesses already, but I just want to make sure which one he wants…" Rizer explained, scratching his head in the process. "So, what's your nickname Mortifer?"

" _The Reaper of Sorrow_ … I already liked the name, so I may as well keep it. Even if I get reported to the authorities, a guy in the SAO Case Victims Rescue Force promised me that he would turn a blind eye on me. He also promised to remove all of my SAO records including the ones that were glitched out due to the system bugging out."

"Wait, they have record logs of what we did in game?!" Violet cried out.

"Yeah, they do. Kirito and I hacked into the RECT Progress and found the logs there. That's how the guy from the SAO Case Victims Rescue Force found us in the first place. I checked it once again when RECT Progress was getting shutdown and found my files completely gone."

"You hacked into RECT Progress? Jeez, is there anything you can't do?" Rizer questioned me.

"I can't become anonymous in any of the VRMMORPGs I play…" I grumbled out, looking back at the crowd of people who were now chasing after us with pens and paper in hand. "Ugh… Why can't they just leave me alone… Get ready to run."

I turned around and began mumbling out an incantation. During my recovery in the hospital and at home, I took the time to learn some Magic used in the game should I ever need to use it. The incantation I'm chanting out right now is the same one Kirito used in his battle against Eugene - _Smokescreen_. I uttered out the last word and fumes of black smoke began violently emitting from my hands. It didn't take long for the area around us to be completely covered by smoke. I summoned my wings and ascended from the ground.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" I urged my team.

They all summoned their wings and quickly followed me. I headed towards a forest in the distance where we soon disappeared into.

* * *

 **An hour and a half later,** **Tolbana**

"Jeez… It's been so long since we've been here Mortifer." Violet pointed out.

"How long has it been? Like two and a half years?" I asked her.

"Around that time. Speaking of time, it got dark pretty quickly."

We all looked towards the setting sun in the horizon which visibly continued its descent. It's as if time itself is accelerating. The game developers must have done this so players can play the midnight release in broad daylight for a while. Now, it's trying to match its time with the real world so there's no confusion when one suddenly goes from broad daylight to a pitch-black night.

"It's one-thirty in the morning right now. In about half an hour, the moon would probably be high in the sky. How long are you guys going to stay up?" I asked Trish and Violet.

"I-I can stay here for about one more hour…" Trish responded.

"An hour and a half? Maybe two?" Violet guessed.

We walked around Tolbana, heading towards the floor's Labyrinth. Of course, we can't enter it right with the Field Boss still guarding it. Facing the Field Boss shouldn't be too much of a challenge, but Kirito had messaged me on my way here that there's going to be a massive group of players who are going to come to Tolbana tomorrow for the Field Boss raid. The raiding party includes Kirito's party, Sakuya's party, Alicia's party, Eugene's party, my party, Zed's party and Klein's party. Not all parties will have seven players total, but we don't need full parties for a Field Boss raid. Plus, I trust the strength of everyone participating in the raid enough to not worry so much. Also, I heard that if you defeat a Floor Boss, the party leader's name is placed on Monument of Swordsmen for everyone to see. Only seven names can be engraved on each floor at a time, meaning only seven party leaders will have their name written on the monument even if eight or more parties participate. Because of this, I've decided to switch around the party leaders every time we participate in a boss raid so everyone can get their names up there. It wouldn't be fair if only mine and Zed's name were written on it.

"Hey, look! It's the amphitheater!" Violet beamed. She ran over to the worn down Roman theater where the first boss raid meeting was held.

We caught up with Violet and admired the theater. The structure was made of some yellow, worn-out stone that has been severely broken down. Some of the columns have fallen to some aesthetics to this very small theater. I looked at the small number of seats and remembered where Kirito and Asuna sat together. I also looked around the outside of the theater and found the tree where I hid to spy on the meeting. The column right next to us was the column Violet also used to hide during the meeting. I almost forgot why we were hiding when I remembered the scene I had caused in the Starting City some number of days before that. Just like here in ALO, I don't want to attract any attention which is why I hid back then from a public meeting. I looked at the stage and remembered Diavel speaking, the blue-haired man who led the 1st Floor Boss raid but tragically died trying to land the last hit on the boss. I also remembered that bastard Kibaou. Apparently, Thinker had put that guy in Black Iron Prison after committing mutiny against him. I wonder what that bastard is doing right now…

"Hey! Onii-chan!" A familiar voice called out.

We all turned our heads behind us. We looked down the steps of the theater and saw Leafa at the very bottom of it. Not a moment later, Kirito and his group came walking from behind the corner. It seems that they have lost one of their party members, the one who had that blue pet dragon. I believe Silica was her name, but I'm not too sure about that. I should really go and talk to Kirito's friends and get to know them a bit more, specifically Silica and Lizbeath. I know Klein and Agil well enough due to our conversations over at the Dicey Café.

"Hello Leafa-chan! Kirito-kun!" Violet called out to them.

We walked down the steps and met up with my brother and sister. A few of them were starting to look tired, especially Klein who had to work for a bit before he came online. Bags were forming under his avatar's eyes and he looked just about ready to collapse on anything that looks like a comfortable place to sleep. Since it was bad manners and the place was getting darker, I removed my mask and pulled down my hood. Yui, who I had not seen in a while, flew out of Kirito's shirt pocket and landed on top of my head. She lied down and started playing with strands of my hair.

"This is even better than your previous avatar, Oji-chan!" Yui cried out in happiness.

"Sometimes, I think you're a bit too obsessed with my hair Yui." I laughed out.

"Well Papa won't change back to his SAO avatar. The spikes in his hair aren't comfortable to sit on at all!"

"Yes, yes… Enough about whose hair is better. Where did the rest of your guild go?" Kirito asked me.

"We split up." I told him. "Since the party size limit is seven, we split up into teams of five to make things easier for us. It's also a teambuilding exercise to prepare us for future raids and other big fights. Since I couldn't join my guild in the Front Lines during SAO, I'm lacking in any and all teamwork with them except for Violet and Rizer."

"I guess that's a good enough explanation." Kirito determined. "So, where are you guys heading to now?"

I looked at my team who then looked at me. My mind went blank as I realized that I had no other plans after exploring around the 1st Floor and checking out if anything changed.

"Uh… I don't actually know…" I shamefully admitted, scratching. "Where are you guys heading?"

"To the Field Boss. We decided to go take a quick peek at it before getting off and going to sleep." Asuna explained to me.

"That sounds like fun!" Violet beamed. She then turned around and looked at me. "Mortifer, can we go with them?"

Violet's expression reminded me of an overexcited kid who was begging for their parents to let them do something. In fact, her hands were clasped together as if she really were begging for me to go with them to the Field Boss zone. If I say no, she's only going to bombard me with more questions on why I don't want to go with them. Truthfully, I have nothing against going with them, so I would have said yes even without Violet begging me to do so.

"Yes, yes. We can go with them." I told her.

Violet shamelessly jumped out of excitement and instantly ran over to Asuna and gave her a big hug. Should've guessed Violet wanted to hang out with Asuna. The two of them are like best friends, and both hail from rich families who live in Setagaya. Konno and Agil conversed with each other. I recalled that the two of them were part of the famous _Rizer Squad_ so they know each other very well. Lizbeth went to go and talk with Trish, who tried her best to talk with the energetic blacksmith. Rizer messed around with Klein, trying to get him to wake up. That only left me and Kirito, who simply stood next to each other and led our parties towards the floor's Labyrinth.

"Do you know where the rest of your guild is?" My brother asked me.

"Nope. We haven't contacted each other since we left the Starting City." I responded to my brother's question. "I should probably try and contact them right now and see what's going on. It's getting late anyway…"

As we walked down the streets of Tolbana, I opened up my menu and scrolled through my small friend's list. I selected Zed's name and began sending him a text message, asking him where they were currently at, and informing him that Kirito and I were heading to go check out the field boss. I could have sent this message to other members of Team A, but I found it better to send it to the leader of the team instead of someone else. Makes it quicker to decide what to do if the leader is the first to see the message. I sent the message to Zed and closed my menu. I waited for his response while we exited Tolbana's borders and entered the wilderness. After a few minutes, I grew concerned.

"People get messages in-game instantly, right?" I asked my sister.

"Yes. The moment it is sent, the receiving player will get it instantly and be notified of it." Leafa answered.

"If so, why is Zed taking so long to respond?"

"Well, maybe didn't feel the need to respond, or he's busy with something else." Violet suggested.

"I guess that's true…" I mumbled. "So, are we going to keep on walking to the Labyrinth, or are we going to fly there?"

"Can we fly please?" Klein moaned. "I want to go to bed soon…"

"Yeah, we should probably fly. Even if we go at a brisk pace, it will still take us about twenty minutes to get there." Kirito guessed.

We all summoned our wings and took off to the skies. Most of our group kept close to the ground, just above the trees. However, I flew high in the sky so I could gawk at the beautiful landscape. Much of the 1st Floor is filled with different sorts of terrain to show off to new players the beauty that was Sword Art Online two years ago. Currently, we are flying above a deciduous forest which surrounded the giant, cloud-piercing pillar that the Labyrinth was inside of. Nearing the center of the pillar is a flat plain of grass and jagged rocks. However, if you look to either side of us, you can see high mountains that are covered by blankets of trees. Near the Starting City, there are strangely-shaped islands that stood on the ground with a point as small as a pencil. There are infinitely flowing rivers and waterfalls in these islands, and much more. And towards the western end of the floor, or northwest of the Starting City, there is a great plain that has been eroded greatly. It used to be a rather popular farming spot but it was soon monopolized by beta testers or strong parties of players.

After two minutes of flying, we exited the forest's area, and entered the Labyrinth's grassy plain. And we hadn't been here for more than two seconds before I heard screaming and explosions in the distance. With the sun fully set, I could not see as well as I could during the day. We all descended to the ground and stopped in our tracks.

"Yui, are there any players nearby?" Kirito asked her.

"Um… Yes, there are. A group of eight people ahead of us.

Kirito and I moved ahead of the gang who tried their best to keep up with our pace. We climbed the top of a large hill and got a clear view of the land before us. A large distance away from us, I could see players being chased down by a colossal creature that I had never seen before. Is that thing the Field Boss? If so, whoever is being chased by it needs to realize that they can just run to the forest to get rid of its aggro. I summoned my wings once again and flew after the endangered players. Kirito followed closely behind me while everyone else lagged behind us. The closer I got to the players, the bigger the Field Boss seemed to be, When I got close enough to see every one of the players, I recognized five people within the group. Zed, Paradox, Konno, ViVi and Aqua were running alongside three other players, trying to escape the stone guardian. Zed was carrying a Gnome on his back and struggled to run away from the guardian. A Spriggan and a Pooka followed closely behind him. Aqua and Konno did their best to stall the guardian, but they couldn't hold on for much longer.

"So that's why he wasn't responding." I murmured to myself.

I took out my twin blades, and Kirito brought out his giant black sword. Everyone else behind us also brought out their weapons which only slowed them down even more as they prepared for a fight. Before I did begin fighting, I took some time to observe the boss we were about to confront. It stood on two legs and is about the size of a two-story house. Just like what the information said, it is mainly made out of moss-covered stone. It had a large head with a rather small face, as its mouth and eyes were only a few inches apart. It was sort of a hunchback as its rocky spine jutted out of its back, making some rather vicious spikes. The body had an upside-down triangle shape, getting narrower as it goes down to its legs. It also had a glowing green gem at where its heart is supposed to be. Its arms were as large as a small tree, and his fists were the size of a smart car. Its legs were not as long as its arms, but it was still very agile. As it chased down my friends, it raised its right arm which began glowing green. Realizing it was about to attack, I flew towards the guardian's body, ducking under its right arm, and slashed against the green gem on its chest. The guardian made a deep rumbling noise, as if it were in pain. It stopped its attack and stumbled for a moment. Everyone looked back and saw me flying behind them.

"Mortifer!" Konno exclaimed out of happiness!

"How the hell did you guys get into this situation?" I questioned them as I flew above them to reach Zed.

"These three people were trapped by the guardian. The Gnome guy is seriously injured, so his avatar can't walk properly." Aqua explained to me. "We could have run straight to the forest, but the numerous hills would slow Zed down and let the Field Boss catch up. The guy is also too heavy for Zed to fly him out. We're trying to circle around to the flat road that's on the other side of this pillar."

"I'm sorry for causing all of you guys so much trouble!" the Spriggan apologized.

"We didn't realize that this area was the Field Boss' territory. We really are sorry!" the Pooka also apologized.

"You can apologize when we get out of here…" I told them.

I then turned my back to the guardian. My team as well as Kirito's team now has the guardian's attention and is currently fighting it. Rizer and Agil stood out the front, holding a defensive position. Konno joined them and prepared to tank the boss' attack. Asuna, Cayonz and Paradox prepared themselves to begin healing as they took out books containing the basic Magic healing spells for Undines. Everyone else stood in between them, acting as the main damage-dealers.

"Are we really going to be fighting the boss now Mortifer?" Kirito questioned me. "We promised Sakuya, Alicia, and Eugene that we would take it on tomorrow, or later today."

My brother is right. We can definitely fight the boss now, despite everyone's fatigue. However, the Lords and the General may be angry we took the boss down without them. I made a promise with them too. If I can't even keep such a simple promise, how am I supposed to keep my other ones?

"Don't take down the boss, but we can at least try to bait out its attack pattern. So far, I've only seen one and it seems it can be interrupted if you attack that green gem on its heart." I told everyone in the vicinity.

"Before that, can we get these three guys out of here?" Zed groaned as he struggled to put down the heavy Gnome. "I'd rather not have a helpless player next to a boss."

"I got it."

I ran over to the Gnome player and drooped his body over my back. The guy was as heavy as the _Buster Sword_ even though he has the lightweight body of a fairy. That armor of his must be high-leveled to make him weigh this much. When I got into a comfortable position, I began running straight towards the hills instead of heading to the flat road. If I choose to go to the flat road, it will likely take the same amount of time if I just went straight over the hills. And I don't need to worry about the boss chasing me anymore since my friends have its aggro. However, by the time I finish getting this guy, the Spriggan and the Pooka out of the Field Boss' territory, my friends will likely be done baiting out its attacks. I would like to stay and see for myself, but everyone is busy with the boss. We need Rizer and Agil to tank attacks, and Cayonz is too slow so he will get really tired before he gets to the halfway mark. Zed has been carrying the guy already so he is quite tired, leaving myself as the only person who can do this job.

"I'll likely be done when you guys are done with the boss!" I yelled at them as I went over the first hill. "Tell me about it afterwards!"

"Don't worry! Just get those guys out of here!" My brother yelled at me.

I went over the first hill and sped my pace up slightly. The Spriggan and Pooka led the way to the forest that was a long way ahead of us. We continued running to safety while the sounds of battle sounded throughout the valley.

* * *

 **Ten minutes later**

I dropped the Gnome on the ground and collapsed right after. The Spriggan and Pooka remained standing, but were struggling to catch their breaths. They took a seat next to their Gnome friend and rested there. I turned my body over so I could look up to the sky. The moon was no longer at its high, and was now beginning to sink. It really is getting late… I slowly stood up and stretched my arms and legs. I opened up my inventory and checked on my friends' locations. I noticed that they were already on the outer borders of Tolbana. It's like they forgot about us and went straight back to the village. I closed my menu and summoned my wings. Before I could leave, the Gnome who had been unable to move earlier grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"W-We know we heard your friends call out your name earlier, but we didn't exactly catch it…" the Gnome began saying. "So, can you please tell us, what's your name?"

I looked at the Gnome with a blank expression. Although I didn't mean to do it, it seems I intimidated them a little bit because of it. I looked away from them and towards the bright full moon of Aincrad.

"My name… is Mortifer…"

I took off from the ground with a violent boom. The ground directly beneath my feet folded upon itself slightly and created a miniature dust cloud. I flew as high as I could before flying straight to Tolbana at full speed. Even though it seemed like a dot in the distance, the village grew in size by the second. It took me a mere minute to arrive to the village. I stopped moving and hovered above the central plaza of the city where I can barely see a large group of people gathered there. I headed straight down, face-first like a meteor. When the ground became too close, I quickly stood myself upright before landing with a loud boom. Another dust cloud formed and the people around me began coughing. Using my cloak, I cleared away the dust around me, revealing the large group of people to be my friends.

"That entrance was cool, but unnecessary." Violet coughed out.

"Where are those other three players?" Asuna asked.

"I left them by the forest, outside of the Field Boss' range."

"Wait, why?!" Violet questioned.

"I mean, you guys are the ones who left us over there in the first place. Plus, I'm confident they can handle themselves just fine. So, how did the boss battle go?"

"The Field Boss is called _The Stone Golem_. It uses four different attacks, with no specific pattern." Yui began explaining to me. "Each of its attacks have a set cooldown and when it goes off cooldown, it immediately uses it right away. The attack where he brings up his right fist can be considered his basic attack and deals the least damage, but is up every fifteen seconds. It has a magical attack where it slams its left fist on the ground, causing a wave of rubble to go towards its target. It seems to deal heavy elemental damage, but it is easy to dodge. This attack has a twenty second cooldown. It has a large area-of-effect attack in which he throws small, sharp rocks at a cone directly in front of him. It has a thirty second cooldown and can only be dodged by flying upwards. Its last attack is not that much of an attack, but it sheds part of its body which transforms into a monster called the _Ruined Stone Golem_. This seems to happen only when it loses a quarter of one of its health bars. Ten _Ruined Stone Golems_ spawn from one piece"

"So, it has foot soldiers… As expected…" I murmured. " _The Stone Golem_ is so slow moving and has rather large cooldowns, making it rather weak to quick, powerful bursts. Other than its heart, are there any other weaknesses?"

"The boss' body seems to be weak to blunt weapon attacks." Konno spoke up.

"Yeah, and that's quite a problem." Lizbeth complained. "Just from our group alone, we only have three people who use blunt weapons. That would be me, Konno and ViVi over there. It took us a while to bring it down to just one HP bar since slashing weapons aren't that effective against it."

"Sakuya, Alicia and Eugene's party also happens to use mainly slashing weapons. And would lances even work against the boss since it's a thrust weapon?" Leafa questioned.

"Well, since it's made out of rock, do you suppose it may be weak to Water Magic?" Trish suggested. Everyone in the guild looked at the shy, and timid Trish out of surprise. "In MMORPGs I've seen, enemies made out of a certain element are typically weak to another element. If it's made of stone, it must be weak to water and highly resistant to fire and wind. It is likely neutral to earth and may not even be affected by things such as music and illusion since it is a boss monster. Now that I think about it, the explosion magic of Salamanders could be useful to it to bits and pieces, and the wind magic could be used to cut at its heart… I-I don't really know if I'm right or not, so I'm sorry if it is wrong!"

Everyone stared at Trish out of amazement. Trish however, took this the wrong way and seemingly got super embarrassed. Aqua slowly approached Trish and grabbed her by the arms. She then proceeded the shake her best friend violently out of excitement.

"Trish, that's so smart of you!" Aqua exclaimed. "I knew your nerdy brain could be useful in video games!"

"She's right." Leafa agreed. "ALO has bosses and monsters who are highly resistant to physical or elemental damage, but it weak to the other. It would make perfect sense if the Field Boss is weak to Water Magic."

"Though we still have a problem…" Agil determined. "Even if we include all of our parties, we still only have three Undines to work with, and none of them know high-level Water Magic just yet."

"We also need them to focus on healing as much as possible. Sakuya and Alicia don't have any tanks, while Eugene told us that his tanks will be off duty tomorrow." Kirito added in.

"It would be okay since Eugene is bringing in a full team of mages." I told everyone. "He is going to have three healers and three high-level Fire Magic users at his disposal. They can help with healing and perform explosion magic to help out with the fight. Trish can help out by learning the basic Water Magic spells and using them during the fight. Paradox can also make us healing potions that restore both HP and MP, allowing us to sustain even longer."

"Also, I forgot to say that my group has two tanks in them, so they can also help out with tanking the boss' attacks." Klein added in.

"Oh man, it's going to be such an easy fight then! Good job Trish!" ViVi congratulated her.

Everyone congratulated our shy little mage who tried her best to smile through all of it. She really is trying her best to break out of that bubble of hers, and I hope she does. I looked over at Cayonz who smiled at Trish, happy to see people giving her lots of attention. I never really understood why, but Cayonz always cares for Trish and treats her with respect. At first, I thought it was because they are both of African descent but I don't really know anymore. Either way, this is a milestone for Trish.

"That settles it then. Tomorrow, I'll contact Sakuya, Alicia and Eugene and inform them of the information we gathered during the raid." Kirito declared. "After that, let's go and take down _The Stone Golem!"_

Everyone raised their fists into their and shouted in unison:

"Yeah!"

* * *

 **Two hours later,** **Alne**

Almost everyone has left the game and gone to bed. The only ones remaining are me, Cayonz and Rizer. They wanted to go to sleep earlier, but they decided to stay up so I can talk to them about the surprise I had waiting for the guild. Currently, we are in a bar at Alne. We were the only people inside the bar if you exclude all of the NPC servants and innkeeper. We sat on a large table meant for five or more people. We received our drinks from the NPC servant and began our discussion.

"So, Mortifer…" Rizer drowsily spoke. "What is this surprise we have for the guild?"

"Let me show you…" I said. pulling out a large scroll from my Inventory, and spread it out across the entire table. This scroll had a world map of ALfheim Online drawn on it. "As you know, we all have a boatload of money we have at our disposal because of our SAO data overlapping that of ALfheim Online. We can buy anything we want in this game because of our numerous amount of funds, and three months ago, I learned that I can buy something rather special."

I pointed at a location, northeast of the World Tree's location. This place was located at the very edge of Gnome territory, right next to the Leprechauns. There is no valley towards the north that lets us enter the central plains of ALO, making it very far away from Alne as you have to either take the dangerous mountain passage, or go south and take the Rainbow Valley route.

"This place right here is known as the Misty Valley. It surrounds the area where we are going to have our surprise located. I had our place located here so then random players won't stumble by it every so often. I've already had my sister check out the land and take pictures of it, so I've got an idea on how I want to do this surprise of ours."

I pulled out more scrolls which contained my plans for this project of ours. Rizer and Cayonz examined them carefully and began smiling.

"Jeez Mortifer… Don't you know how long this will take if it's only the three of us?" Cayonz asked me.

"I don't really care that much because I like this surprise of ours already!" Rizer laughed out enthusiastically. "How much will this project of ours cost?"

"The land is super rare and hard to find. It is also located inside of Gnome territory which means I had to pay extra since I am not a Gnome. The materials we need are all in different Gnome cities, but we need hundreds, if not thousands of them. Because of that, I've determined the total cost of this project of ours to be over one and a half trillion Yrd."

Rizer, who was sipping at his drink, began choking at hearing the sound of the cost.

"Wait, we won't have enough then!" Rizer exclaimed. "I'm aware you have at least one trillion Yrd, but Cayonz and I don't have the rest we need. We need to borrow from others in the guild or something!"

"No, we can't. I want this to be the biggest surprise yet, so we have to limit our borrowing of money." I stated. "We can make money off the boss raids and maybe some other stuff."

"Even if we participate in all boss raids, we still won't have enough money to complete this project of ours." Cayonz determined.

"Which is why I asked my sister what is the best way to obtain money in this game. She first told me about defeating the Evil-God class monsters down in the field dungeon of Jötunheimr, but it is too difficult with our manpower and current equipment. And so, she told me of another way to make easy money that seems to be quite popular in ALfheim Online…"

"What's this method you are speaking of?" Rizer asked me.

Even though there was nobody around us to eavesdrop, I motioned for Rizer and Cayonz to get closer to me. I whispered into their ears the method my sister had told me and the method I am planning on taking. When I finished, Rizer and Cayonz sat back down with serious expressions.

"I understand that this method can make us the money we need to finish the project, but what would the rest of the guild say to this?" Cayonz asked me.

"No, I think the better question to ask, is if you are okay with doing this, Mortifer?" Rizer questioned me. He glared at me with his intimidating face, causing me to think about my response. "I am totally fine with doing this, and because the game is focused around it, I'm sure the other guys won't care that much. However, the one I see having the biggest problem with this idea is you…"

I hesitated to answer his question. Many thoughts were going in my mind. He is right about me having the biggest problem with the plan since it affects me more than anybody else in the guild. Even so, I want to do this for everyone…

"I'll find a way…"

Rizer looked at me, as if he wasn't accepting that kind of answer. When I simply stared back, he sighed and reverted back to his normal expression.

"So, when do we start this project of ours, and how do we converse without the rest of the guild knowing?" Rizer asked me.

"Since there is no radar or tracking system in ALfheim itself, we can work on this project whenever we have time. I'll show you guys the way to get there Saturday night, and I will be online throughout the week working on it. As for meeting up and discussing it, we can do it at the Dicey Café or do it in-game at the project site. We can't do anymore English conversations as they will inevitable pick up some things."

"That's fine with me." Cayonz said as he stood up. "It's getting very late now, so I'm going to go to sleep."

"Yeah… Same here." Rizer yawned out.

"I hope everyone likes this surprise of ours." I mumbled out.

"Don't worry Mortifer. I'm sure they will love it!"

/

/

/

I'm pretty sure it's not healthy for me to literally sit down and use my computer for more than fifteen hours straight every day playing video games and writing this story, but I don't really care. I know I made it seem like I won't be back for a while but I've gotten bored really easily lately, making me write way more than I usually do. In fact, this chapter was thought-out and written in only two days. Enough about my personal problems. I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of **No More Sorrow**. Please look forward to **Chapter 2 - The First**.

 **Word Count: 9.3k words**

 **\- Mortifer V**


	3. Chapter 2: The First

**Several hours later, 12:00 PM JST,** **Tolbana**

I am sitting down next to a high table, resting my head on the flat top with my arms acting as a pillow. For some reason, I couldn't sleep properly last night, causing me to wake up at different intervals. Therefore, I didn't get enough sleep. My eyes were barely open, and I could see almost nothing through my mask. I was fortunate enough to be alone in the inn, but that won't be the case in a few minutes or so since everyone is getting on. Before that happens, I need to hurry up and wake up.

"I should have taken a shower instead of diving right in after eating…" I mumbled to myself.

I rolled my head over so I was now resting on my chin. I could see some of the things in front of me, like the pillars holding up the ceiling and other tables, but most of my vision was blocked by my hood and mask. I slowly looked around, seeing NPCs walking by and cleaning up the place. I forced myself to sit up properly but it didn't take long for me to lean on the wall next to me. For some reason, it was cushioned with cloth panels, making it comfortable to lean against. I found myself drifting to sleep when somebody noisily sat down in front of me.

"Did you like, not sleep at all or something?" A familiar voice asked me.

I forced myself to open my eyes and I saw Zed leaning his back on the wall. His right arm was rested on the tabletop, fiddling with one of his throwing knives. He wasn't looking at me, but rather staring out in the open, observing the actions of the NPCs and the appearance of the inn. Now that I'm really looking at him, Zed's appearance hasn't changed at all except for his dark red hair and a black ring that is on his right ring finger.

"Yeah, something like that…" I answered him. "Is that ring from Paradox?"

"Oh this?" Zed twirled around the ring on his finger. "No, it's not from her. I just got it from a jewelry store over at Alne. There's nothing special about it. I just liked the design."

"Hmm… Okay then…"

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep some more?"

"Oh, what's this? Zed is concerned of my well-being?" I teased him.

"I'm not concerned… I'm just saying, you look way too tired to do anything right. I got a feeling you're only going to be a burden once we fight the boss and enter the Labyrinth."

"I'll be fine." I yawned out. "Plus, it's not like it's going to change anything during the Field Boss fight. I'm still going to be useless anyway…"

"What do you mean?"

"I need to train my Two-Handed Straight Sword and get it to level seven-hundred. It's already at six-hundred-ninety-seven, meaning I have three more levels to go before I can finally wield my _Buster Sword_ properly."

"Where did you get that sword anyway?" Zed questioned me.

"It was a gift… From Kayaba Akihiko…" I told him. Zed looked at me in confusion.

"I thought he was dead."

"He is. He died because he uploaded his brain into the Internet. He managed to succeed which is how I got The Seed package to be open to the public. During that time, he managed to create an item compatible for ALO and gave it to me. I don't know how he did it, but he did. All I need to do now is find a way to keep it a secret from the administrators, though I doubt anybody would keep quiet about what had happened in Yggdrasil City."

"Well, you have Violet after all." Zed pointed out. "I'm sure she will hook you up."

"Hopefully…"

Our conversation ended there, and the two of us sat quietly in the inn, waiting for everyone to get on. A minute or so passed by when flashes of light suddenly appeared all over the room. Next thing I knew, everyone in the guild as well as Kirito and his group of friends were now present in the room. Even Klein and his guild appeared. They all looked at each other in surprise, noticing that everyone got on at the same exact time as if it were pure coincidence.

"Wait, did everyone log on at the same time?" Klein marveled.

"No, Mortifer and I were already here." Zed groaned as he stood up from his chair.

"Well, either way, that was freaky." ViVi blurted out, his eyes wide open with surprise.

"Hey, Onii-chan!" Leafa called out, stomping her way to me. "Did you even eat breakfast this morning? You got on ALO so quickly that I was worried."

"Yes Mom, I ate breakfast…" I groaned out as a joke. Leafa put her hands on her waist, irritated and slightly embarrassed. Violet giggled as she walked towards me.

"Come on Mortifer! We need to get to the amphitheater!" Violet encouraged me as she tugged on my sleeve. "The raid party is waiting for us there! We're going to discuss the strategy and everything else."

"Okay, okay… Let's head out then…"

I unequipped the _Buster Sword_ , returning the colossal weapon back into my Inventory. I held Violet's hand and together, we exited the inn and walked into broad daylight. Many players were walking down the streets, admiring the town's architecture, the NPC vendors and other things. Many of them looked at our large group of twenty-two people, wondering what we were doing. I overheard some of them talking about my presence in Yggdrasil City last night, as well as the fact that Kirito is the guy who beat General Eugene. During our walk to the Field Boss raid summit, we passed by a weapons vendor. I asked the group to stop as I needed to buy myself a two-handed sword to use.

"How high is your Two-Handed Straight Sword, Nii-san?" Kirito asked me.

"Six-hundred-ninety-seven. I won't be completely useless, but this crappy weapon won't be able to make a big difference. If worst comes to worst, then I'll switch back to my _Obsidian Blades_."

I strapped my _Iron Broadsword_ on my back since my two other blades are by my side. Afterwards, we continued our walk to the theater which is just around the corner. When we did turn the corner, I looked up the staircase and saw large group of people gathered at the front entrance. The group consisted of different races who are all trying to peek inside the amphitheater. It seems they have gotten word of the boss raid meeting, or saw the Lords and the General walk towards here. Our group slowly ascended the staircase, making lots of noise with our heavy footsteps. The large group of players at the entrance turned their heads and noticed our approach. They split up, creating a path for us to pass through. I passed through without looking at the spectators and looked down towards the stage. At the very center was a large round wooden table where Sakuya, Alicia, and Eugene sat at. The chairs were arranged like a heptagon and marked to tell who is going to sit where. When I saw a purple mark next to Sakuya's seat, I already wished I had Violet by my side. And taking up the front row seats of the theater were the other members of the raiding parties.

"You guys are late!" Alicia cried out to us.

Kirito, Klein, Zed and I walked all the way down to the stage and took our seats at the round wooden table. I sat in the middle, between Sakuya and Eugene. Alicia and Klein sat on Sakuya's right, while Kirito and Zed sat on Eugene's left. I was facing towards the entrance of the ruined building, able to see every single person inside the theater. Jeez, it's only a Field Boss raid meeting, yet everything seems so formal and serious.

"Everyone's hear now…" Eugene began. "So, you guys apparently have information about _The Stone Golem_?"

"That's right. The boss does not have a set pattern, but its attacks have timers or occurs at set intervals, making it rather easy to adapt." Kirito began speaking. "Before we talk about its attacks, I want to go over its overall strengths and weaknesses. The Field Boss is heavily resistant to slash attacks as it is made of solid stone. Pierce attacks are no different and will only work on if the attack hits the boss' weak point which is on its abdomen, above its heart. Blunt-edge attacks affect it best, but our raiding party only has a total of three blunt-weapon users. We theorize that Water Magic and Explosion Magic may work on it. Eugene-san, did you bring fire mages capable of high-level Fire Magic."

"Yeah. And if we need anymore, my healers can switch to offensive magic." Eugene suggested.

"I have three dragoons at the ready. Since the Field Boss is in an open field, I was thinking we could use them if we need any more firepower." Alicia put in.

"So, what about the boss' attacks?" Sakuya asked.

"It has three offensive attacks which it uses instantly once it goes off cooldown." Zed began to quickly explain the boss' attacks. "A strong punch with its right arm that targets one person. It has a fifteen second cooldown. An Earth elemental attack where it smashes the ground with its left fist, crushing anything beneath it and sending a wave of rocks towards its target. This one has a twenty second cooldown. Finally, it has a large area-of-effect attack where it throws sharpened rocks in a cone in front of him. It can be easily dodged by flying upwards, but it can deal some serious damage if not dodged. It has a thirty second cooldown. Though the most important thing is his passive ability."

"Passive?" Eugene questioned.

"Before that, I need to tell you that the boss has three health bars total." Klein took over. "We brought it down to almost one bar to see if it changes any patterns before that, but didn't notice any change. Now for the passive ability, whenever it loses a quarter of its HP bar, it sheds part of itself. The fragmented piece transforms into ten _Ruined Stone Golems_ , which are basically it's minions. Their individual stats were low, but it's still resistant to slash and pierce attacks like the boss itself."

"So, if we happen to damage the boss too much, we're going to be faced with a swarm of these mini-golems while fighting the boss?"

"That's right…" I began speaking. "We don't know how effective Explosion Magic and Water Magic can be, so we need to moderate our use of it at the start. If we accidentally take away one health bar right away, we will be faced with forty of these guys. We need our healers to focus on the tanks and the mages to keep up the DPS. Sakuya, I want your soldiers to clear the _Ruined Stone Golems_ and protect all of our supports. Alicia, your dragoons will help Eugene's mages maintain the DPS while you and your other teammates will help Sakuya clear the trash mobs."

"You're so mean Mortifer-kun." Sakuya smiled at me. "Giving my party such a boring role. And why does Eugene get to play a bigger part in this raid than myself?"

"Because we agreed to clear the first floor before the weekend is over." Eugene growled. "We can't mess around during a boss fight and expect to emerge victorious from it."

Sakuya's seductive smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of contempt.

"I know full well that the agreement was to clear the 1st Floor before Monday comes, but what's the harm in having some fun while doing so? ALfheim Online is a video game which is created for people to have fun and enjoy. You two are taking it a bit too seriously."

"I am fully aware that games are meant for entertainment, but for some people, losing is not fun at all. Straying from the path of victory will only lead to defeat, and that defeat feels even worse knowing you could have won had you not fooled around like an ass. Do you know what else is not fun, Sakuya? Knowing that your mistakes led to another's misfortune… That's not fun…" I grimly stated. I looked at Sakuya with dead serious eyes, and she hesitated after noticing the anger burning inside them.

"Nii-san…" Kirito called out to me. I turned to Kirito, who looked at me with a worried expression. That's when I realized what I was saying.

Yes… This game is no longer Sword Art Online, so there is no punishment for failing a boss raid such as this. I'm also highly confident that we can defeat the boss in the first go without struggling too much. Heck, even when we encountered it earlier this morning, I thought we could beat it even with everyone being so tired. However, that small chance of messing up which then leads to someone's death… It's still in my mind… Wait, no… It's more like it returned to me when I entered New Aincrad. Everything feels the same, making me think I am in SAO once more. I lived in that world for so long, and tried living inside of it so much that I no longer know if the rules I lived by then are still applied to me now. In the back of my head, I know that the death penalty is non-existent, but I also don't want to see anybody dying in front of me. I guess you could also say that the Voices also play a role in how much I've immersed myself in this virtual reality. I put my hand on my face, contemplating about how this will affect me from now on.

"There's no point in hiding it anymore Nii-san…" Kirito began. "You guys probably realized this already, but we are all survivors of the death game Sword Art Online."

Sakuya, Alicia and Eugene turned their heads towards Kirito. Their expressions didn't completely show surprise, making me assume that they must have known or at least suspected it.

"There are things we don't want to remember… Things we want to forget… Please bear with my brother's actions…"

The amphitheater went silent. All except for the voices of people at the entrance, as well as the Voices in my head were reaching me. Finally, Sakuya broke the silence.

"I suspected so… Your strength and experience with VRMMORPGs seemed rather large even though you guys have played ALO less than us… Very well then. We will try out best not to question too much about things related to this topic."

"Thank you… Anyways…" Kirito began speaking. "Let's go over everyone's roles now. Mortifer, Zed, Klein, and my group will mainly act as the vanguard, dealing damage to the boss and tanking its attacks. Paradox, Cayonz, Asuna and Eugene's healers will keep everyone healthy. Aqua will provide additional support. Eugene's mages and Alicia's dragoons will be our main damage dealer. And finally, Sakuya and Alicia's group will take care of the trash mob. Are there any objections?"

Everyone looked at one another, looking to see if someone will raise their hands. When nobody had any objections, Kirito stood up from his seat.

"Okay then. Let's go take down that Field Boss!"

* * *

 **(Violet)**

 **Several minutes later, plains of the Field Boss Zone**

Kirito's group led the raid party towards the Field Boss. Klein and his party were next to them, conversing with one another. Sakuya and Alicia were located behind those two groups, sticking together as usual. Alicia's dragoons flew high above them, to the point where we can't hear the beating of their wings. Eugene and the Salamanders followed behind Sakuya and Alicia, making sure everyone in their group was prepared for the raid. Our guild was located at the very back of the raiding party, all because of Mortifer, who was even further behind us. He was walking at an absurdly slow rate, causing him to fall behind rather far. And if we tried to slow down so he could catch up, he would simply stop and look at us from afar.

"It seems like he doesn't want to be near us right now." Zed determined. "Come on guys, ignore him. We need to catch up with everyone else."

Team A and the rest of Team B went on ahead to catch up with the raiding party. I remained where I was and looked at Mortifer from afar. Even though he wasn't even looking to see where he was going, he stopped in his tracks as if he knew I too had stopped moving. I tried making my way to him, but he too began moving away from me. Can he hear my footsteps from that far? Or is he really looking up right at me instead of down at the ground? Either way, I really can't understand why he can be so stubborn, even to me.

"Fine, be like that then!" I shouted at him out of frustration.

I stomped my way towards my guild who had fully caught up with everyone else. When I had almost reached them, I turned back to check on Mortifer, who had completely disappeared out of my sight. I stopped in my tracks and scanned the landscape around me. There are a bunch of hills he could be hiding behind, but he couldn't have moved that quick unless he used his wings or had sprinted his way there. I would have heard him either way since my Straining is maxed out, and flying in general seems to make a booming noise, a bit like a sonic boom. I let out a long sigh and continued to chase after my guild.

The entire raiding party had stopped on top of a large hill and spread out so everyone could see the area before them. In front of us is the giant pillar which the Labyrinth is located inside of. At the base of it is a rather mountainous terrain with a large opening towards one side. This large opening leads to the entrance of the Labyrinth which is currently being guarded by _The Stone Golem_. The Field Boss stood in front of the door, scanning the area around it. The boss spotted us, and its name, health bar, and the red Color Cursor appeared on its head. It bumped its own fists together and let out an odd roar which sounded throughout the valley.

"Oi, oi, oi…" Eugene growled. "Where's that damn Imp Mortifer?"

"He disappeared somewhere… I don't know." I told everyone.

"Right when we're about to go into a boss fight?!" Paradox exclaimed.

"What the hell is that brother of yours doing Kirito…" Zed mumbled as he drew out his sword.

"I don't really know…" Kirito responded back as he scratched his head.

"Well, don't worry. That guy will appear when worst comes to worst." Zed told everyone as he began descending the mountain. "He does that all the time anyway."

Just as we were about to descend the grassy hill, something flew above our heads in blinding speed. The black, comet-like object flew right at _The Stone Golem_ and collided with the Field Boss' heart. Instantly, the boss loss nearly a quarter of its HP bar, and it stumbled backwards. The man in black whom I thought was an object gracefully landed on the ground, and held his two-handed sword with one hand. Before I could determine the identity of the man, the Field Boss began its rock throwing attack, raining rocks all over the area in front of it. The man in black evaded and parried away all of the incoming rocks, taking no damage from the attack. Because of his speed, actions and movement style, I already knew it was Mortifer.

"Are you guys seriously going to make me do all the work?" Mortifer shouted at us.

"Well, it seems like you can solo it anyway!" Zed shouted back out of anger. "And this guy said he was going to be useless because he's using a two-handed sword… How many bosses has he soloed again?"

"Uh…" Rizer said as he began to count his fingers. "Five, unless you want to count that silver-haired guy he fought earlier this morning. I consider that guy a boss since he was an NPC."

"Make it seven. He basically did all the work with Heathcliff." Kirito admitted.

"Oji-chan also could have soloed _The Fatal Scythe_ that I deleted back then Mama, Papa." Yui smiled as she flew around Kirito's head.

"Well, he was level one-hundred and three or something like that… I'm not exactly surprised." I mumbled out for everyone to hear.

"He was above level one-hundred?!" Asuna exclaimed. I nodded my head, making everyone else in Kirito and Klein's group drop their mouths open.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but what are you guys talking about?" Sakuya questioned us. "You're saying that he has defeated at least six bosses on his own?"

"Eh… Don't worry about it. It may seem like an impossible feat but that guy does it all the time." Aqua announced.

"Enough with the chatter already." Eugene grouched. "Let's take down that boss already."

* * *

 **Half an hour later, inside the Labyrinth**

The strategy that Mortifer made as well as Trish's intuition allowed us to take down _The Stone Golem_ rather quickly. In fact, the fight itself took us ten minutes. It had no change of attack pattern, and the _Ruined Stone Golems_ were handled with ease. This Field Boss must be the easiest boss fight I've participated in, though it may be because we are all quite powerful players. There's no doubt in my mind that Mortifer, or even Kirito could have soloed that boss. Also, there doesn't seem to be a Last Attack Bonus in the game since one of Eugene's mages performed the last hit and received no bonus items for doing so. After the fight, Sakuya, Alicia and Eugene relayed out messages to their armies to inform everyone that the 1st Floor Labyrinth is now open. The news spread around rather quickly since we saw new players appear after twenty or so minutes of the messages being sent out. During that time, we were recuperating in the Labyrinth's entrance.

"Hey, hey… I thought New Aincrad is supposed to be harder than the original SAO." Klein complained out loud.

"Be grateful it didn't take us so long. We now have time to explore the Labyrinth. Heck, we can probably face the Floor Boss today if we wanted to." Kirito determined.

"We agreed to do it tomorrow, but we can reschedule it to today if you guys wish." Alicia offered.

"It really depends on how long it will take us to find the boss room." Kirito sighed. "Also, unlike SAO, we can't really have a scouting team to check on the boss' attacks since the doors will apparently close after the grace period is over. That only leaves you with two options: win right away, or lose and retry with more knowledge of the boss."

"We have unlimited retries, but that doesn't mean we can just let ourselves die every time." Sakuya stated.

"Of course not. We just need to be prepared for anything that may happen in the boss room. Unfortunately for you Sakuya, your army lacks in diversity, only using swords and Wind Magic…" Eugene grumbled.

"It would be much more powerful if we didn't have to deal with you Salamanders attacking us all of the time." Sakuya argued back, glaring at the General.

"That just goes to show how weak you Sylphs really are. You even had to team up with the Cait Sith and receive help from the Imp and Spriggan." Eugene ridiculed her, causing Alicia to express her distaste.

The tension amongst the three leaders increased to dangerous levels. Everyone else, including their own subordinates, began backing away, afraid of what was going to happen if this continues. Sakuya and Alicia glared at Eugene, who looked down on the two Lords. That's when the raiding party split up, creating a path for Mortifer, who was walking towards the three bickering players. He stopped in front of them with his hood down but mask still on. I only see the back of his head, so I couldn't tell what he was planning on doing.

"You guys are wasting time, arguing about the strength of your races." Mortifer began speaking. "There is no point in going up against each other anymore since the Grand Quest of ALfheim Online has changed. New Aincrad is not a competition to see which race finishes it first. It's only to see if it _can_ be finished. But, if you wish to think of this as a race, then I suggest you shut up and get a move on, or else I will take down the Floor Boss by myself... Also, if you're really itching for a fight now, then come. I'll take you on. I'm rather bored right now…"

The place went quiet from Mortifer's words. Everyone, except for our guild, was either surprised or scared of his speech. Sakuya and Alicia held expressions which hinted fear while Eugene's expression remained impassive. Mostly everyone in the raiding party does not doubt the fact that Mortifer himself is strong enough to solo bosses, even if New Aincrad is supposedly harder than before. The simple fact that Mortifer isn't afraid to stand up against other players is what makes him so endearing to players. It's also what makes me fear for his safety.

"We will cease our arguing then…" Sakuya obeyed, bowing towards Mortifer. I have a feeling she is now growing scared of Mortifer. At least that means she won't hit on him anymore…

"Thank you… Now, let's make clearing this Labyrinth more efficient." Mortifer began speaking. "The boss room is located at the uppermost floor of the Labyrinth, making it difficult to find as this entire dungeon is a giant maze with multiple floors. We will split up and traverse different paths of the dungeon. When a group finds something special, like a staircase or a Safe-Zone Area, inform all other groups about it. Other than that, we will rendezvous back at Tolbana in two hours' time. Do we have an agreement?"

Zed, Kirito, Klein, Alicia and Sakuya nodded their heads in agreement. Eugene hesitated and finally obliged. It seems he is still having trouble being bossed around by Mortifer, but it seems like everyone is like that from the start, especially Zed. Mortifer then turned his head towards the dungeon where it splits into four different paths.

"Two teams will go down on each path, and split up when they have the chance to do so. Kirito, Klein, go take the left path. Sakuya and Alicia, take the one next to them. Eugene and Zed, you guys head down the right path. My group will take care of that one right there."

Mortifer pointed to the path between Sakuya and Zed's group. It seems we will be the only ones taking that path.

"If your path splits and you go down a path that leads to one of the other parties, backtrack and take the other path. If you can't backtrack, then travel alongside them until you see another path split. Also, remember that there are random players in the Labyrinth who are not part of the raid party. If possible, obtain and share information regarding the mapping of the Labyrinth. Does everyone understand?"

"Aye." Everyone spoke in unison.

"Okay then… Split up!"

* * *

 **An hour later**

Even though our group was supposed to stick together and search the Labyrinth, the moment we set off, Mortifer disappeared like a ghost. We didn't even know if he took our designated path since we didn't see anything in front of us as soon as we embarked. He's also not outside of the Labyrinth either since I cannot detect him on my map, nor has he logged off since his status is currently online. I contacted the other groups about his disappearance and told them to inform us if they find him. So far, nobody has even caught a sign of him. However, because Mortifer is solo, he managed to search around rather quickly and has found the staircase to the second and third floor. Since almost everything in the first floor was discovered, everyone went on ahead to the second floor. Five of the seven groups went on ahead to the third floor while Sakuya and Alicia stayed behind to explore the rest of the second floor. The groups split up once again and is now exploring the third floor. And at that moment, Rizer received a message from Mortifer.

"Jeez… Mortifer's found the staircase to the fourth floor…"

Cayonz, Trish and I looked at him in surprise. I opened my menu and pulled open my map, displaying the areas of the third floor we have discovered. When I saw how much blank space there was on my map of the third floor, I let out a long sigh.

"How is it even possible for Mortifer to find everything so quickly?" I questioned. "Surely, he had to stop to fight some mobs, and he didn't even message us for the third and fourth floor. The staircases have to be close to each other if he found it so fast, otherwise his speed bug may have returned."

"But, aren't Imps capable of flight even inside of dungeons?" Trish brought up. "If he used his wings to travel around the Labyrinth, it would only make sense that he finds everything so quickly without having to face many monsters. After all, we haven't found a single aerial monster yet. Also, the Labyrinth in itself isn't that big, but because we are facing lots of monsters, it is taking us much longer to explore. After all, it took us a month to find the boss room on the twentieth floor, right?"

The three of us looked at Trish in surprise.

"You are one smart girl Trish." I complimented her whilst smiling. "I completely forgot about the Imp's flight capabilities. Also, don't Imps, Spriggans, Pooka, Sylphs and Cait Sith have the wall run ability? I heard that it's hard to pull off and you need to run at incredible speeds."

"Well, the only other person faster than you Violet is Mortifer, so I don't have a doubt he can do it with ease." Rizer put in.

"It _is_ Mortifer after all." Cayonz also added. "That's probably going to become an inside joke within our guild whenever he does something a normal can't do…"

"Haha… Yeah, it probably will." I laughed out, smiling brightly. "Anyways, will you guys tell me what Mortifer was talking about earlier this morning? The one where he was talking to you guys in English?"

Rizer and Cayonz looked at each other, then back at me.

"I'm sorry Violet, but we can't tell you what it is. It's a secret, and you know how good our guild is at keeping secrets." Rizer answered me.

" _It's unfortunate that people in Japan learn English grammar usage, but don't even use English in actual conversations. If they did, they would be able to talk and understand many other people._ " Cayonz told Rizer via English.

" _Yeah, I know… Mortifer managed to teach himself how to communicate in English properly which is quite impressive. Apparently, he knows a few Latin and speaks Spanish fluently as well."_ Rizer responded, also in English.

"Did you understand any of that?" I asked Trish quietly.

"Mortifer knows Latin and Spanish… I think is what they said…" Trish whispered back.

"Well, whatever then. Let's head over to the staircase leading up to the third floor. Everyone should be gathering there now, except for maybe Sakuya and Alicia."

We began messaging the other groups, obtaining mapping information on how to get to the staircase which Mortifer found. After minutes of taking the route given to us by Zed's group, we found everyone else ascending the staircase alongside a bunch of random players. Kirito and Klein were sharing map data with the random players while Zed and Eugene's group continued to ascend the staircase. When we began going up, Asuna spotted me and began waving frantically over to my direction.

"Violet-chan!" Asuna greeted me. "You're here!"

Zed and Eugene's groups stopped in their tracks, and turned back around to face us. My group caught up with everyone and we gathered at the top of the staircase. The random players Kirito and Klein were conversing with either went on ahead or went back down, perhaps to exit the dungeon. Everyone except for Eugene sat on the steps of the stairs, resting their bodies. I forgot how terribly boring mapping and exploring a Labyrinth is, especially when there are twenty floors to fully explore. All of this exploring is also making my avatar a bit hungry. With no house or place to cook food, I couldn't make any meals for the group to eat while exploring the Labyrinth. I do wonder what kind of things I can make in this game with all new kinds of monsters everywhere.

"Even though we did this kind of thing for hours less than a year ago, I'm already starting to get tired." ViVi panted.

"That's because your real-life physical prowess influences your strength in-game." Zed spoke up. "If you want to do better, you've got to work out more…"

"But that's so difficult! It gets too hot when I work out!"

"Then remove your clothes!" Aqua boomed. "You're always wearing like three layers of clothing regardless of the situation you're in. Even in school you wear the designated winter jacket."

"But it's so cold all the time!"

"ViVi, shut up already…" I commanded my cousin. "If Mortifer were here, he would have beaten you up already for complaining so much…"

"Can I be his substitute?" Rizer asked me, cracking his knuckles and giving ViVi a death glare. I simply sighed and shook my head, denying his request.

"Did you lot not bring any food with you?" Eugene questioned us. "Eating food in-game will help relieve the fatigue you have. It also helps reduce your hunger in the real world, making it a rather odd, but popular dieting method."

"We're aware of the fatigue loss, but we don't have a place to cook food in, nor the ingredients to do so." Asuna told the Salamander.

"Then buy something off of an NPC store. It's way cheaper and easier that way."

"But player-made food tastes way better, especially coming from one who has Completed their Cooking, like us two." I told the General, pointing to myself and Asuna.

"You two maxed out Cooking? What a waste of time…"

"You won't think that if you just taste our cooking." I grumbled out to Eugene.

"Enough with the food stuff you guys." Kirito stopped us. "Let's keep exploring the Labyrinth so we can beat the 1st Floor before the weekend ends. When summer break starts next month, then we can do whatever we want."

"Agreed." Zed said as he stood up. He reached out for Paradox's hand, and helped her up as well. "Let's keep on going."

* * *

 **Several hours later 8PM, an inn in** **Tolbana**

The members of the raiding party currently online are waiting at the round table for the rest of the group. During the eight long hours we explored the inside of the dungeon, we managed to reach the nineteenth floor of the Labyrinth. While most of the floors aren't fully explored, it's pretty impressive for us to get so far in one day. These things usually take up to a week to do, with the exception of the 22nd Floor of the old Aincrad, which took three days to clear.

I had just gotten back from eating dinner with my family. There was something rather odd in the atmosphere while I was eating dinner. My parents were being oddly quiet tonight. Usually they ask me how is my day going and what I did in-game with my friends, but they didn't talk much today. I could just be overreacting but I'm still not too sure. They seemed as if they were nervous to talk to me which has never happened before.

Anyways, we are currently waiting for Mortifer's family to get back online. Apparently, they ran out of things to cook, so Mortifer and Leafa had to go to the market and buy items. When I questioned Kirito about Mortifer's cooking skills in the real world, he told me that Mortifer is the one who usually cooks the food for the family, making me quite surprised, though Kirito stated that Mortifer's cooking isn't as good as Suguha's. However, it is taking them quite a long time to eat their dinner since everyone else returned thirty minutes ago.

"What's taking them so long?" Klein complained. "It's just food…"

"Well, they don't order food for delivery like you Klein-san." Asuna teased the red-haired man.

"Yeah, and besides…" Lizbeth spoke up. "We had to wait for you for a full hour, just so you could run to the nearest McDonalds and get a burger…"

"But a man's gotta eat!"

"Then stop being rude to Kirito and his family, and let them eat at their own pace…"

"Fine, fine…"

The raid party began sitting down all over the bar alongside a bunch of other players who have entered the inn. It got super busy and crowded inside the inn, to the point where people are now spilling outside of the place. Is this the only inn in Tolbana? If so, then why did everyone suddenly decide to come here? All of the rooms are going to be rented out at this point when all of us log off here. Nonetheless, the inside of the inn became a party, with people competing in an arm wrestling competition. Currently, Rizer has dominated every single one of his opponents, including Eugene who struggled greatly against him. The only two people able to compete against him is Agil and Cayonz, who are both larger and seemingly more muscular than Rizer.

"You want to try our left hands Cayonz?" Rizer encouraged our healer.

"Let's do this…" Cayonz said with a smile.

The two competitors brought their left arms up on the table and clasped their hands together. Cayonz's huge hand covered Rizer's like a half-glove. They set their right arms on the table in front of them and leaned towards each other.

"On your mark…" Zed began announcing. "Get set…. Go!"

Immediately, veins popped out of both of their arms as they struggled to bring each other down. Both of their biceps began bulging out for everyone to admire. I could see Rizer's face begin turning red as he continued his struggle. After ten seconds, we began to see movement. Rizer was pushing Cayonz's hand down and the crowd got really excited. Everyone thought Cayonz was going to lose when he suddenly began fighting back. They went back up to the middle and then Cayonz began pushing Rizer's hand downward. And with one last push, Cayonz literally slammed Rizer's hand down the table hard enough to cause it to flip over. Rizer was thrown off his seat while Cayonz was also brought down due to his momentum and Rizer's pull. Had the table not been an Immortal Object, it likely would have been destroyed just now.

"And the winner is… Cayonz!" Zed shouted as he raised Cayonz's right arm upwards.

The crowd went into an uproar and congratulated our guild's healer. People went over to pat both Rizer and Cayonz on the back, congratulating both of them for doing a good job on the match. During the midst of that, three flashes of light appeared in different spots of the room. I spotted Mortifer appear from one of these lights, and he looked surprised at the huge crowd of people. I began making my way to him, and when he spotted me, he too did the same. We finally met up and moved to a more spacious area of the inn.

"What the hell did we miss?" Mortifer asked me.

"Rizer and Cayonz had an arm wrestling competition. It was a left-arm battle that Cayonz won in the end." I informed him. "What took you guys so long?"

"Kirito messed up the rice badly, making it unusable, and I needed to get gas for my car as well." Mortifer told me.

"Oh, okay then."

"And uh, sorry about my attitude earlier… I was being stubborn. I wanted to be alone so I could clear my mind for a bit. I'm better now, so I'll rejoin you guys tomorrow when we continue our search for the twentieth floor and the boss room."

"Okay. I'm glad you're alright." I told him with a smile.

" _The Reaper_ and his family is back you guys." Zed announced to everyone.

"About time you got here." Eugene grouched. "Let's hurry up and share the mapping locations already as well as the strategy we're going to do for the boss."

"Wait, strategy? Did we find the boss room and scout it?" Mortifer questioned.

"No, but we got news from ALO's website, MMO Tomorrow as well as NPCs in the game. It just so happens that the 1st Floor Boss of New Aincrad is the same as it was in SAO." Konno explained to Mortifer.

"You mean _Illfang the Kobold Lord_?"

"Yeah, that guy."

"Are all of the bosses in New Aincrad the same as the old Aincrad?"

"I don't believe so." Konno mused. "Anyways, do you know about _Illfang_?"

"Violet and I were there during the raid, but we didn't participate. Kirito, Agil and Asuna actually fought it though, and Kirito landed the last hit on it." Mortifer told him.

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Kirito spoke up. "I remember kicking you off that staircase."

"You remember, yet haven't apologized?"

"Hey, that happened before you changed, so that doesn't count."

"Can we discuss what we came here for already?" Eugene demanded, slamming his hand down the table, effectively getting the attention of everyone in the inn.

Mortifer let out a long sigh and took a seat at the large round table at the center of the room. Zed, Kirito, Sakuya, Alicia and Eugene also sat down at the table and opened up their menus. Everyone else gathered around, including the curious random players who wanted to know what was going on.

"I almost completed mapping the entirety of the nineteenth floor, so the empty areas are possible locations for the staircase." Mortifer explained as he brought out his map. "The southwestern region of the floor is where I predict the staircase is going to be. Otherwise, it is located at this tiny area over here towards the east. There are no Safe-Zone Areas in floors sixteen to nineteen, so hopefully there is one at the twentieth."

"Going backwards, our parties discovered nothing importance in floors one through seven." Sakuya took over. "Like we discussed earlier, there are Safe-Zone Areas at floor eight and thirteen, with a few horde traps on the tenth and fifteenth floor, spawning fifteen _Red Kobolds_ at that location."

"There are also traps like that at the seventeenth and eighteenth floor. There may be more at the twentieth since it is the last floor, but that is merely an assumption." Alicia added in.

"Now, what about the boss then?" Eugene asked.

"I think we should talk about it tomorrow right before we enter the room, so it is fresh in our minds." Zed suggested. "Right now, I just want to rest. I forgot how tiresome it is to search through a Labyrinth."

"I'm fine with that." Klein agreed with him. Everyone around the table also began agreeing with the two.

"Then what do we do about the mapping data?" Sakuya asked everyone.

"I'll give mine away once we finish clearing this floor since I don't see the point of keeping it." Mortifer spoke up.

"To whom will you give it to?" Alicia questioned him.

"Whoever can give me five-thousand Yrd first will get the data." Mortifer bargained.

Immediately, Sakuya, Eugene and Alicia opened their inventory and quickly took out three satchel bags filled with gold. The three of them shoved it towards Mortifer, who did not know which one to take from.

"This is ten-thousand Yrd!" Alicia exclaimed. Right away, Sakuya and Eugene took out another bag.

"Fifteen-thousand!" Sakuya shouted.

"Twenty-five!" Eugene growled as he shoved it right towards Mortifer's face.

Sakuya and Alicia took out yet another bag filled with money.

"Thirty thousand!" Alicia pleaded.

"Forty thousand!" Sakuya begged. Eugene then took out one more bag and slammed it down the table.

"Fifty thousand!"

The inn went silent at Eugene's offer. While I haven't been in this game long, I know the economy well enough to know that fifty-thousand is plenty of money. Even in SAO, this price would be completely absurd for map data that isn't even complete. It's only the first floor too, so it's odd for the three of them to complete bring the price all the way up to fifty thousand. Mortifer however simply smiled mischievously, as if it was his plan to get the three of them to bid on his mapping data.

"I guess Eugene wins it. Keep the money for now, and I'll give you the map data tomorrow."

"You better not go against your word Imp." Eugene threatened. He stashed his bags money back into his inventory. "Come on men. Let's get out of here."

Eugene and his party stood up from their seats and began making their way out of the inn. The crowd split and created a path for them to take. Eugene pushed open the swinging doors and disappeared into the night. The crowd then turned their eyes back to the meeting table where everyone remained sitting. Mortifer was smiling behind his mask while playing with a throwing knife Zed had placed on the table.

"Fifty-thousand for incomplete map data… What is that guy thinking?" Mortifer asked Sakuya and Alicia.

"He probably wants to know all of the locations of every good farming spot within New Aincrad so he can keep on building the strength of the Salamanders. The feuds between races remain even after the end of the old Grand Quest." Sakuya explained.

"There are also rumors going around dealing with the Salamanders, but this place is too crowded to discuss that sort of thing." Alicia added in.

"Whatever. We can talk about it tomorrow or some other time. I need to go check something out. Rizer, Cayonz, let's go." Mortifer said as he stood up from his chair.

"Oh, we're heading there now?" Rizer asked.

"Wait, heading where?" Zed asked them.

"Don't worry about it." Mortifer told him as the three of them walked out the door.

Irritation built up inside of me and I stomped my way outside of the inn with the rest of the guild following behind me. However, before we could even react, Mortifer, Rizer and Cayonz took off on their wings and flew away from the town in super speed. I can easily follow their speed, but I decided not to trail them.

"Where are those guys going?" Paradox asked me.

"I don't know… There's some sort of secret they don't want to tell us. Every time they talk about it, they speak in English so I can't fully understand a word they're saying." I informed the rest of the guild.

"Well, hopefully I'm with them next time so I can find out what secret they are trying to keep from us." Aqua yawned as she leaned her head on Trish's shoulder. "Did you pick up any of the words they were speaking Trish?"

"N-No… They spoke rather fast, so I couldn't comprehend any of what they were saying." Trish admitted.

"You guys will find about it eventually." A voice from inside the inn spoke. We turned our heads towards the inn entrance and saw Kirito and Leafa appear from within.

"You guys know what he's hiding from us?" Konno asked the two siblings.

"Yup, but Onii-chan told us to also keep it a secret from you guys. Sorry." Leafa nervously smiled.

"Oh, come on! You gotta tell us!" ViVi pleaded.

"Nope. Sorry." Kirito affirmed.

"Well, whatever then. If they want to keep it a secret, then so be it. We'll just wait for the day they come and tell us then." Zed declared.

"Hopefully it's soon…" I mumbled out.

* * *

 **(Mortifer)**

 **The** **Misty Valley** **, Half an hour later**

We flew through the night sky, passing over hills, forests, rivers and other landforms in the northeastern side of the world. The air has gotten considerably colder and the ground below us has started to gain some frost. Ahead of us however, is a thick fog which remained stationary and unmoving. I pulled out an item called _Sky Light_. It's a decoration item that remains where it is placed, whether it be on a surface or floating in the air. And unless a player moves it directly with their body, it remains where it is. I took the glowing ball of light and held it in my hand.

"Follow close behind me, or else you may lose me." I told Rizer and Cayonz. We flew into the fog, and my mask began accumulating water droplets. The air rapidly got colder, and the fog thicker.

"Was it really a good time to visit this place during the night? We have a raid boss to go to tomorrow as well." Rizer asked me.

"We also don't have the time, nor resources to work on it. And with little to no visibility, it's hard to work at all." Cayonz stated.

"I just want to show you guys the way here so then I don't have to lead you here all of the time."

I looked at my map while traversing the thick fog. I used the landforms displayed on the screen as guides to where I need to go. It would be easier if it were day time since I can at least see what is below me, but the night is dark with the moon still not high enough in the sky. In fact, I think the sun is still up on the other side of ALfheim, just hovering above the ocean.

"You were right about this fog… I can't see a god damn thing." Rizer exclaimed.

"I think we should have hugged the side of the mountain. After all, the plot is located next to one, right?" Cayonz asked.

"Yeah… We probably should have." I thought out loud. "Well, we're getting close anyways."

We continued flying through the fog until it slowly began to clear up. At that point, I put my map away and felt my way out of the fog. Eventually, it got to the point where we could see what was in front of us. I looked at the ground and saw the ancient-looking stone path and slowed down my pace so I could follow it. We exited the fog and looked upon a great canyon. The top was blooming with flowers and grass while the walls were filled with dirt and stone. I descended down to the stone path, and so did Rizer and Cayonz. Upon stepping into the ravine, a notification popped up in front of Rizer and Cayonz.

"You have entered a player's land. Owner ID: Mortifer…" Rizer read.

"Oh, so this is where the border starts? Sweet!" I exclaimed.

I opened up my inventory and pulled out thirty-one more _Sky Lights_. I gave Rizer and Cayonz eight each and kept the other sixteen for myself. I then used my menu to begin configuring the permissions of my private territory. I gave both Rizer and Cayonz full authorization to everything in my property and even allowed them to configure any other options that may need to be changed. The two of them were notified of their newly received permissions.

"Place these _Sky Lights_ near the walls of the ravine, hovering above the ground." I told them. "Make sure you maximize its lighting capabilities by distancing them from each other. I'll be putting these floating near the top of the ravine so we can make sure it is fully lit."

"All right then." Cayonz acknowledged.

The three of us began working on lighting up the ravine. I flew up near the grassy top, and began placing the _Sky Lights_ on both sides of the ravines. We could probably decorate this ravine a bit more as well. Maybe have some stone arches across the top, or get some plants with vines so that they drop down into the ravine below. The stone path also needs to be updated a bit as I feel like there is too much grass being exposed. Should we also have our own flag here as well? I guess we can decide on that later.

"I'm down with my side!" Cayonz shouted below me.

"I am as well!" Rizer added on.

"All right! I'll be down in a second!" I shouted back at them. I placed the last of the lights and descended to the ground. I then faced towards the other exit of the canyon and smiled. "So, what do you think of this?"

The stone path ended when the ravine opened into a huge valley. The entire area was located within an even larger canyon with smaller walls. The valley extended all the way to the side of the mountains where it rose up slightly due to a hill. There were two weird, narrow bridges connecting the top of the canyon and the hill at the bottom of the valley. This gives access to a smaller area above the canyon that we can use for other things. Not only that, a natural road on the mountainside led up to an isolated platform, hanging off the side of the mountain, a few dozen meters off the bottom of the valley. Yes… I know exactly what I want to do for each and every part of this place…

"How much did this land cost again?" Rizer asked me while marveling at the space we were working with.

"One and a quarter trillion." I told him. "I'm basically bankrupt now because of this place. The money you guys have on you right now will be used for the resources we need for this place."

I opened up my menu and sent a trade request to Rizer. He willingly accepted and I gave him a small quantity of wood to work with.

"Can you make a chest and table out of that?" I asked him.

"Shouldn't be a problem…" Rizer determined.

He accepted the trade offer and took the wood I had offered him. He selected the wood and began using his Carpentry skill to craft items. After a few seconds of waiting, a large flat wooden table appeared in front of Rizer as well as a wooden chest on top of it. I then opened my own menu and began taking out the schematics I had for our project and stored them inside of the chest. I took the thing and brought it down below the table. I looked up to the night sky above us which twinkled with stars.

"When we finish with the boss fight tomorrow, I'll start working on this place." I told the two of them. "I'm aware that you guys have work on the weekdays, but don't worry too much. Because Martial Arts and Meditation are no longer Skills in this game, I replaced it with Masonry and Carpentry. Fortunately, the data I had with those two were also transferred from SAO, so I don't need to level it up so much. I can do the basic stuff without you guys, but I will still need your help for the bigger stuff."

"That's fine. As long as you get the resources for us, we can do whatever it is the plans ask for." Cayonz stated. "Also, did you choose us because we still have the Carpentry and Masonry skills?"

"Mostly… But, I figured you guys would be more willing to help me out in this kind of thing."

"Well, you're not wrong about that second one." Rizer laughed. "Zed would be slacking off if he knew he had to help build something like that. Probably ViVi and Aqua as well."

"Yeah… Probably…" I also laughed out. "Well, it's getting late now, and I need to reset my sleep schedule. I'm going to log off now. See you guys tomorrow."

I waved the two of them good bye as I logged out of the game.

* * *

 **2 PM of the next day, 20** **th** **Floor of 1** **st** **Floor Labyrinth**

We looked upon the giant black iron door which stood at least two stories off the ground. It took us nearly two hours to find the twentieth-floor staircase and locate the boss room. By that time, we had activated so many horde traps that I needed to go fly out of the Labyrinth and to Tolbana to obtain healing items. They weren't as good as the ones in Alne, but we don't need anything too crazy. It took me half an hour to do this supply run, and by the time I returned, everyone's health and mana regenerated to the point where it was nearly full. Everyone healed up completely and we began our boss raid meeting right there in front of the door.

"So, this _Illfang_ guy… What is he like?" Sakuya asked us.

"The guy has four health bars and uses an axe and buckler which is a small shield strapped to its arm." My brother began explaining. "At the start of the fight, three _Ruin Kobold Sentinels_ spawn right next to the boss and defends it from the players. Each time one of its health bars are depleted, it spawns three more totaling to twelve. When it's last health bar is brought down below to one-third, it throws away the axe and buckler and switches it for a katana. Its special attacks are switched along with its weapons, so be wary of moves we haven't seen. All of its attacks can be easily parried and blocked, but since ALO does not have Sword Skills, it may be a bit harder."

"Sword Skills?" Alicia asked us.

"They are a type of special attacks done with your weapons." Violet began explaining to the Cait Sith Lord. "They do extra damage and are assisted by the system, making combat easier for those who aren't fast enough or strong enough. Speaking of that, I heard my father talking to some of his associates about that. He said they may implement it into ALO as well."

"Really?!" ViVi beamed. "Cool!"

"Perhaps they can also add an elemental aspect to the Sword Skills…That would be a great advantage against bosses who are resistant to physical attacks." Konno mused.

"And it would make it so players who aren't that good at sword fighting have a chance against others. Though I doubt you're going to use any Sword Skills aren't you, Nii-san?" Kirito asked me.

"I don't see a point to it if I can dish out more damage without suffering that Post-Motion Delay. I have faith in my own strength and weapons to not use the system's assistance." I confidently proclaimed.

"We've gone off track again…" Eugene growled, punching the ground with his red iron gauntlet. "Is there anything else we should know of the boss?"

"Since Magic did not exist in SAO, we don't know its resistances or weaknesses to magic-based attacks, so for now just use Explosion Magic as usual. I like to consider the boss as a glass cannon, so the people of the vanguard need to be cautious if it is targeting them. I have nothing else to say."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Kirito stated.

"So, how will we split the teams again?" Asuna asked.

"Trish, what do you propose?" I asked her.

The entire group looked at our youngest member, waiting for her to come up with a response to my question. I could tell she was nervous since she was both shaking and sweating. She looked at the ground and blushed heavily, as I could see red even through her brown cheeks. She then took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to speak.

"Konno-san should be our main tank and try to pull aggro as much as possible. His shield makes blocking easier due to its surface area. The other tanks will switch around with him, but also try to parry the boss' attack, allowing our damage-dealers to Switch in and attack the boss. Eugene-san's mages should use their attacks sparingly in case the boss suddenly charges for them. Depending on the boss' damage output, the healers should only heal a little bit above or below half the player's HP. As for the trash mobs, the party who first encounters them should be responsible for taking it down as quickly as possible. If your party has a tank, they should just go straight for the boss to make sure the others have time to take down the _Ruin Kobold Sentinels_. Archers should help wherever they are needed, whether it be the boss or its minions… T-That's all I have…"

There was a short moment of silence before I smiled and approached Trish. I put my hand on top of her head and rubbed it affectionately. I then walked away from her and approached the boss room's entrance.

"You heard her. Now let's go!" I shouted out to everyone. And in unison, they responded:

"Yeah!"

Kirito and I did the honors of pushing the boss room door open. While that happened, I saw Aqua hugging Trish from behind, grinning like a child. The rest of the guild and more went over to congratulate Trish, patting her on the back and complimenting her. When the doors fully opened, we all spilled inside of the familiar rectangular room. Pillars aligned the sides near the walls, leading up to a giant throne at the other end of the room. I could not see the boss yet, but that's because we have a grace period before it spawns in, indicated by the blue torches that are beginning to light up on each of the pillars. When everyone was inside, Klein headed over to the side of the door and pressed the button which automatically closed it. That very same button will also end the grace period and lets the boss fight start right away.

As I predicted, a flash of light appeared in front of the throne, and a familiar red giant appeared from it. It picked up its weapons and jumped down from its high throne and out into the light. _Illfang_ roared and three _Ruin Kobold Sentinels_ appeared before him. However, the only thing that didn't appear were his health bars.

"Hey, how come his health isn't showing?" Klein asked everyone.

"It seems that the bosses in New Aincrad do not show their health bars…" Sakuya determined.

"Yeah, but what about _The Stone Golem_? That one had its health bar showing." Lizbeth recalled.

"Who cares! We don't need to see its health to defeat it!" ViVi excitedly proclaimed. "Let's go!"

* * *

 **Half an hour later**

 _The Stone Golem_ is nothing compared to _Illfang the Kobold Lord_. Now I truly see what they meant about how the New Aincrad bosses are harder. The Field Boss we fought yesterday must have been there to throw us off, unless all Field Bosses are that weak. However, this fight has taken us half an hour, and _Illfang_ has only spawned in nine minions total, meaning he likely has one health bar left unless they changed that aspect of him. Even with Eugene's mages using their most powerful magical attack, it doesn't seem to be affecting the boss as much as we think it does. It's a good thing I went on a supply run because we badly needed these potions for the fight as our mages have depleted their MP bars three times already.

"Not seeing its health bar is way harder than I thought it would be." Agil stated.

"Yeah! We don't even know if it still has one full health bar left or something!" Klein shouted out.

"Mortifer-san, our healers will run out of MP in two minutes!" Trish shouted out to me. "The fire mages and I will run out in one and a half. We're also out of MP potions, making us mages useless in two minutes time!"

"All right then… I guess we just need to go all out on the boss…" I determined.

I sheathed my two-handed sword and pulled out my two _Obsidian Blades_. Even though I am extremely close to being able to wield the _Buster Sword_ , this situation calls for me to use my twin blades. Maybe I'll switch back when I know this guy is almost dead. Either way, I need to focus on dishing out as much damage as possible in the short window I have to attack. I really think we should all just attack together once we have an opening, but that would be completely reckless of us to do. Just one attack that Konno blocked chipped away nearly a quarter of his health, and Konno's Shield is Completed too.

"A powerful downward strike in three seconds!" Yui cried out the boss' attack pattern. Everyone held their weapons tightly and readied themselves. "Three… Two… One!"

 _Illfang_ performed a powerful downward strike with its axe. Rizer, who was at full health at the time, went in and parried the incoming attack, breaking _Illfang_ 's guard and leaving it wide open to our attacks. All of our damage dealers then went in and mercilessly attacked the Floor Boss. We continued our onslaught until _Illfang_ let out an angered roar which shook the entire boss area, and deafening those of us right next to it. Three _Ruin Kobold Sentinels_ spawned next to it, indicating another loss of an HP bar. If this guy has the same health bars as last time, then this should be the last set of trash mobs. Seeing that we needed to end before the mages run out of MP, I attacked all three of boss' minions and brought them away from everyone else.

"I can handle these three! Do as much damage as possible to the boss!" I shouted at them.

"Right!" Kirito shouted back.

I led the three minions far away from the boss, all the way to the throne room as a way to make sure that they will have to run a long distance to get back to the boss. When I was satisfied with the distance between me and the rest of the group, I turned around and went straight for the closest Kobold. Since my weapon isn't so great, I didn't do much damage to the plated armor of the trash mobs. Two of them attacked me at once with their large maces, forcing me to go on the full defensive and block. I was pushed back a little bit due to their bigger size and weapons, but I didn't take much damage from doing so. This pattern of attacking and blocking brought me down to a quarter of my health before I finally managed to defeat all three. And at that moment, my Two-Handed Straight Sword reached level seven-hundred. I smiled with glee and rummaged through my Inventory to find my beloved _Buster Sword_. Without hesitation, I stored my _Iron Broadsword_ inside my inventory and switched it out for the _Buster Sword_.

I could now wield the sword properly and be able to fight with it without it hindering me so much. Rizer would be able to use this quite well, but it was heavy for him at the time because he is not the owner of the blade. For some reason, things like these are heavier if another person wields it, like it is trying to prevent theft. Either way, this sword will give me a huge power boost, and there is something in my sights that I can use to test the strength of my attacks. I gazed at the giant red Kobold at the center of my room, and charged towards it, dragging my heavy sword behind me. With my built-up momentum, I sliced through the back side of _Illfang_ , cutting across its waist and deep into his belly. I felt no resistance during my attack, telling me just how sharp the blade is.

"Oh! You can wield it now!" Violet shouted in glee. Her happy expression then quickly changed into one of worry. "Look out!"

With Violet's warning, I quickly turned around and noticed the attack coming in from my left. I held up my sword in a way that would completely negate the attack by making it slide off the large surface of my blade. As I predicted, the axe simply slid past me and went over my head. Konno, who was nearby, took that opportunity to use his mace and smash the flat part of the axe upwards, making the boss stumble from the force.

"Go!" Konno encouraged everyone.

Literally everyone in the raid party looked at _Illfang_ and joined in on the chaos. The tanks, damage-dealers, archers, mages and even the healers attacked the boss without showing any shred of mercy. Arrows plunged into its belly. Swords hacked through its virtual flesh. Blunt weapons pummeled the sides of the boss, leaving giant crater-like marks. Explosive fireballs blasted away at the boss' face, and jets of water knocked back _Illfang_ a few meters from his original location. And I watched as our little Trish chanted out an incantation and sent three spikes of ice flying towards _Illfang_. The first landed on its left shoulder. The second pierced through its heart. And the last went further away, going right into its mouth and hitting the back of its throat. _Illfang the Kobold Lord_ shuddered violently before its body exploded into millions of pixels. After a few seconds of silence, the congratulatory screen popped up in front of all of us, as well as the words 'Congratulations' above the center of the room.

"Yeah! We did it! Woo!" ViVi exclaimed.

"We're the first group to beat a floor in New Aincrad!" Klein declared.

"Awesome Trish! You landed the killing blow!" Aqua shouted in glee, jumping on Trish and knocking her down to the ground. The blonde-haired girl smiled as she sat on top of her best friend. "Guys! Let's give three cheers for Trish!"

I smiled and listened as everyone congratulated our little mage and strategist who is now smiling brighter than ever. With this, she can break out of her little bubble and become more sociable like she wanted to be. Not only that, she will become a recognized member of our group should our guild become famous one day. After all, with the money-making plan I came up with, we're bound to get some sort of reputation. Anyways, I watched as a staircase appeared behind the throne, ascending all the way up to a door half the size of the one behind us. Without warning, Eugene and his group pushed past me and made their way towards the staircase. Before he got too far from us however, he stopped and turned around to face me.

"Before we move on, I would like to have the map data now." Eugene asked me. He materialized three brown satchel bogs, each jingled with coins. The excitement died down slightly as I approached him.

"Moving straight on ahead to the 2nd Floor… You really are thinking of this as a competition now, aren't you?" I asked him as I opened up a trading menu.

"It is as you said yesterday. Losing is not fun. While I'm clearly aware of the fact that I need your assistance in clearing these floors, I am not fond of being looked down upon. Consider me as your rival, Imp. I will fight with you for now, but I long for the day we do our real battle."

We exchanged our planned goods. I received fifty-thousand Yrd while Eugene received all the mapping data I had on the 1st Floor's Labyrinth. He and his group then turned around and continued towards the staircase leading to the 2nd Floor. I sighed and scratched my head as I turned to face everyone else. When they began their ascent, I began talking to everyone else.

"He calls me his rival when he has no chance of defeating me…" I grumbled out.

"That trash talk is going to bite back at you one day." Kirito stated.

"Winners get the bragging rights Kirito. He lost to you, and you acknowledge that you cannot defeat me. He can call me his rival, but there's no way I'll call him my rival. That title has yet to be taken by someone."

"Oh, so I haven't taken that title, Mortifer?" Zed questioned.

"Do you consider yourself equal or better than me Zed?" I asked him.

"Not yet…"

"Good. Because I don't think that as well. That's why I don't consider you a rival"

Zed's right eye twitched slightly, showing his irritation at my words. Paradox already began taking measures to calm Zed down by wrapping her body around his right arm.

"Damn Mortifer…" Rizer muttered out. "Tone down on the savagery. You're only going to make Zed mad."

"Sorry… I think seeing Eugene's face makes me a bit pissed off. I apologize for my rudeness Zed…"

I bowed towards Zed, trying to express my forgiveness to him. He calmed down and bowed himself, accepting my apology. I then stretched my muscles and looked back at the staircase. Eugene and his group are gone now, leaving us behind in the boss room.

"Well, I think I'm done for today. _Rizer, Cayonz… You want to head over there and begin our project?_ " I asked the two of them.

" _Yeah, let's go. I'm hyped to start working on it!_ " Rizer exclaimed.

"Aqua-chan! Please translate!" Violet pleaded her.

"I'll see you later Violet! Sorry in advance!" I told her. "Oh, and Kirito, Leafa! Come by from time to time and give me feedback on it! Let's go!"

/

/

/

If the quality of this chapter does not match that of the previous ones I've done, then I do apologize. I write this late at night (or early morning) and I got a severe case of Writer's Block and did not know what to do for the chapter. That will also be the case for the next chapter (most likely). Not only that, I have summer homework to do, and my procrastination isn't helping either. If the next chapter takes even longer, I seriously do apologize.

 **Next Chapter:** The New _Reapers of Sorrow_

 **Word Count:** 12.4k

 **\- Mortifer V**


	4. Chapter 3: The New Reapers of Sorrow

**Two days after the 2** **nd** **Floor opened,** **Misty Valley** **, Evening**

I entered the valley, with a literal wagon in tow. Since I could not fit enough in my inventory, I had to purchase two large wagons to carry all the necessary materials we needed for the project. Right after the boss fight, we started by clearing the land of any hindrances such as rocks and bushes. We also had to dig out the moat around the hill of the valley. This man-made river went under the two bridges, connecting the top to the bottom, making it look much prettier than it once was. As for where we will get the water and how we will preserve it, there are special stones in the Gnome capital of Kalifa which are completely waterproof and resist erosion. We planned on covering the bottom of the river with these cheap rocks like a blanket, then covering the top layer with dirt to hide the white color. After everything is done, we will fill it with water done so the water doesn't evaporate due to lack of protection. That won't be happening for a while, but I'm not even sure the game engine includes evaporation of bodies of water.

I dragged the two wagons and parked them right next to the schematics table and the chest that held most of our belongings. I stretched my muscles from the long journey I took, where I came here from a village that is thirty minutes away on foot. Rizer was working on the bridge that allowed us to cross the moat and reach the hill. With his Crafting and Carpentry being rather high-leveled, he managed to make a drawbridge which was controlled by a metal wheel. The wheel was hooked up to a stone archway that Cayonz created at the hill side of the moat. While people can easily fly or even swim across the small river, it just looks better with a bridge.

"Cayonz, stand back!" Rizer warned the man as he let go of the rope holding the bridge up.

The giant wooden bridge fell forward and hovered above the moat. The end of the bridge was perfectly touching the other side of the moat, making it perfectly even. Rizer then hooked up chains to two sides of the bridge and connected them to the winch system we had built on Cayonz's stone archway. Rizer then tested it, pulling on the winch system and lifting the bridge with ease. He then placed the lock on the wheel, with the lock being a giant stone. The wheel didn't budge, satisfying Rizer.

"And… the bridge is done!" Rizer happily announced.

"All right!" Cayonz exclaimed, giving Rizer a high five. "Hey Mortifer, I've finished outlining half of the base. Did you bring the rest of the materials we need for the full base?"

"Yeah, right here!" I told them, patting the giant mound of stone to be used by Cayonz. "Do you want me to move the schematics table up to the top so you don't need to run down back here?"

"Yes, that would be much appreciated," Cayonz shouted back at me.

I headed over to the table and stored it inside of my Inventory. I took the chest filled with items, and began to carry it to the top of the hill by hand. Had the chest weighed the exact total of the items inside of it instead of a hundredth of their total weight, this would have been impossible for me to move, as it had all our equipment, including my _Buster Sword_. I carefully went up the hill, as the chest blocked me from seeing what was in front of me. When I got to the top, I dropped the chest and pushed it towards where the entrance was going to be. I then opened my  Inventory and took out the table and schematics. I laid them out as intended and looked at them with Cayonz.

"It's oddly shaped, but I won't question your ideas since I'm assuming you have thought this out completely," Cayonz told me as he scrutinized the plans. "Four towers on the corners of the square, with the ones at the rear being taller than the rest… Four bastions located on the sides, reaching down to the second floor and not intruding the first, acting a bit like an overhang… May I ask what the towers above the plateau are for?"

"Well, clearly this place can't be completely occupied by only ten of us, and I wanted everyone to have their own rooms. The tower to the right is for our guild to use, and the tower to the left is for Kirito and his group should they want to stay here. Five floors for each tower with two big rooms in each floor, designed to the owner's tastes. When we make it, the shapes of each room will be the same, but we won't furnish it until we reveal it to everyone else."

"Understood. What are we going to do with that platform all the way up there then?" Cayonz asked, pointing towards the high platform on the mountainside.

"It may be too high and small for it, but I was thinking of turning it into some mystical garden. After all, I need a place to go to when I want to calm down or be alone."

"Speaking of gardens, where are you planning on getting all of the plants we need to make this place?" Rizer asked me as he ascended the hill.

"The Undines and Pookas have some nice plants we can buy, but the ones I want for that garden up there are in the Sylph territory. Luckily, we can simply buy seeds and wait a few weeks for them to grow."

"If Paradox had planted them with her Horticulture, everything would grow in a matter of days instead." Rizer pointed out. "We should plant them a month or so before the summer break ends for them, so they are fully grown by the time we reveal the place to them."

"Agreed. Now, let's see how we will work this out…" Cayonz said as he looked at the schematics once more. "So, the floors will be made of stone, but we're going to cover it over with a carpet, right?"

"That's what I intend to do. We can get the carpets rather cheap over at Cait Sith towns. I also want some of the flooring to be wood since the stone can get cold during the winter months. In fact, the entire place must be freezing without any heaters and insulation. Torches and fires are going to be a must."

"Yes, they are indeed. I guess I can start off with the floor of the entryway. Where are the materials?" Cayonz asked. I pointed down the hill where the two wagons sat silently. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"I'll help you out big guy," I offered him.

The two of us walked down the hill, leaving Rizer to work on the wooden doors for the entrance. Cayonz took one wagon of stone while I took the other. Together, we struggled to bring it all the way up the hill and used up a lot of our energy to do so. While we walked up, I noticed all the empty space we had between the hill and the canyon entrance. In fact, there's enough space to fit another large building in the area, or even cover it with a forest completely. It would look rather uneven, but I think we can transform the left side into a forest and build a large building on the right. Maybe an arena for fighting? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

"You think we should make a big arena with all the space we have over there?" I asked Cayonz, pointing my head towards the open space to our left. He looked down the hill and laughed.

"Let's finish this first before we build another enormous object," Cayonz bellowed.

"Haha… All right then…"

* * *

 **(Violet)**

 **Two days later, Afternoon,** **Alne**

Mortifer told us to meet in Alne earlier in the day when we were still in school. Apparently, it has something to do with the secret he is keeping from us. That fact alone made me want to come here as soon as possible. After I finished my homework, I logged on and made my way to Alne. The trip took me half an hour, since I came from the 2nd Floor of Aincrad. By the time I arrived, almost everyone was there, except for ViVi, Rizer and Cayonz. ViVi is probably taking longer due to his homework, while Rizer and Cayonz cannot attend the meeting due to work issues. However, Mortifer had informed Rizer and Cayonz of the contents of this meeting a few days ago, so it won't harm them if they miss it. That means all that's left to do is to wait for my cousin ViVi.

"You three are in the same class, right?" Zed asked Aqua and Trish. "Was today's homework that hard on you guys?"

"It's not exactly hard, but ViVi doesn't seem to be too skilled in mathematics," Aqua explained to him. I nodded slightly in agreement since I knew of ViVi's math skills.

"Do they not give you guys digital homework?" Mortifer asked us. "My brother does his homework in-game with the new updates to the AmuSphere software."

"Oh? That's a thing?" Konno beamed with excitement. "Then we don't need to meet up in the real world for study sessions! That would save so much time and money."

"Not only that, we can get help from you Mortifer!" Aqua smiled. "You're pretty smart, right? You finished school too, so why don't you come and help us with homework from time to time?"

"Uh… I'll help you out, I guess," Mortifer hesitantly responded. "I haven't studied in three years though, so don't expect me to remember even the simplest of things."

"Speaking of studying, are you not going to go to college Mortifer?" I asked him.

"I still don't know what to do in my future… But when I do find something, then I'll see if I can pass the entrance exams."

I nodded slightly, accepting his statement on why he is not going to college yet despite being smart enough to do so. And at that moment, I saw a familiar person in green running towards us. My cousin, bundled up in several layers of clothing, arrived at the meeting and began to pant heavily. He held up his finger, silently asking for a moment to recover his breath. After recovering, he stood up and smiled brightly.

"Heh, sorry for taking so long!" ViVi worriedly spoke. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Nope. We haven't started the meeting yet," Konno stated. "Well, we're about to now since you're here."

We all looked towards Mortifer, who was sitting on top of a rock. He removed his mask and pulled down his hood. He got up to his feet and scratched his head. He looked nervous, which confused me slightly.

"So, as some of you may know…" Mortifer began speaking. "Rizer, Cayonz and I are working on a secret project. Because it is a surprise, I cannot tell you guys anything about it. As for why I'm here… Our project requires a lot of funds which we have nearly expended in a matter of days."

"So… You need us to lend you some money?" Zed asked Mortifer.

"I promised myself to refrain from borrowing money from you guys. Even if I did use everyone's money, it won't be enough to pay for the expenses. I'm here to ask you guys if you know of ways we can make quick money in this game."

"Just how much money are we talking about here?" I asked Mortifer.

"Two hundred billion Yrd."

Everyone's jaws dropped at the absurd amount of money Mortifer is asking for.

"If you think that's too much, just know that Cayonz and I have already spent more than one and a quarter trillion on this project," Mortifer added in.

"What the hell are you guys working on for something to cost so much?!" Konno questioned. "Oh wait, you're not going to tell us… And you're right about the fact that we can't pay for the costs right away. I think the seven of us only have around one hundred billion in total, but you said you're not going to borrow anyway…"

"Jeez… The only way to make that sort of money is farming the Evil-God class monsters down in Jötunheimr…" Zed determined. "But with our current stats and equipment, it will take us several months of constant farming and waiting for the field dungeon to reset…"

"Is there any other way?" Trish asked.

Everyone became quiet as we silently brainstormed for ideas. Clearly, boss raids yield the most money of anything in this game, and it is dependable since they always give each player at least ten-thousand Yrd. _Illfang_ alone gave each member of the raiding party seventy-thousand Yrd, so imagine what the bosses above it would yield. However, even clearing the floors would take too long. The only reason why we cleared the 1st Floor so quickly was due to us completely rushing through it for hours. In SAO, it would usually take us a week or two before we entered the next floor. Plus, there are only ten floors available in New Aincrad at present, so that won't be enough either.

We can try to sell some of the things we make, like weapons, armor and clothing. However, if our prices are too high, people won't buy. Material costs also play a huge role, and I am not aware of what kind of materials are in this world. And from the looks of it, almost everyone in the game wears some type of armor, so clothing that offers little to no protection won't do. I dug deep into my mind to think up of ways to make money when I suddenly remembered a recent memory. During our first trip to Alne from the Imp capital, Mortifer was telling me of his journey to save Asuna. I remembered him telling me how Leafa suggested that he and Kirito should kill her off and join the Salamanders as mercenaries. If they did decide to kill Leafa then…

"What if we do mercenary work?" I asked everyone. The entire guild turned their heads towards me. "All of us are pretty experienced players, and once we get Rizer to make us some good equipment, we can become high quality mercenaries for people to hire. The races of ALfheim are still going at each other even though the old Grand Quest is already over. This would be the perfect opportunity to take up mercenary work."

"I agree," Trish began speaking. "Not only would it be in high demand, we can bargain with the players to give us as much money as possible. The system gives a random amount of money within a given range, making it not as reliable."

"Also, I hear that they took down the interracial fighting within race-owned towns and cities," Zed put in. "That means, if a foreign race enters a city of another race, they can now fight back and kill the residents of the town, and receive loot from them as well."

"Wait, won't that just make us bad guys again?!" ViVi exclaimed. "We were already infamous in SAO, and we nearly died because of it. I don't want to be known as a bad guy again!"

"You were never a bad guy to begin with…" Mortifer mumbled. "Plus, who would think a fuzzball like you is actually some all-powerful villain?"

"Hey!" ViVi shouted back out of anger. "Now that's just mean!"

"ViVi, please calm down…" I begged my cousin. "And Mortifer, please stop being so blunt. You're going to hurt someone's feelings pretty badly if you continue doing that."

"It's become a bad habit… I can't help it… Anyways, the mercenary work is definitely a good idea. There is one problem however... How are we going to get people to hire us, if they don't even know us?"

"You're friends with Thinker-san, right Mortifer?" Trish asked him. "Why don't we make a post on the MMO Tomorrow and get him to put us up on the front page? Almost everyone in ALO checks the site at least three times a week, so if people see something like that, the ones who care will be more likely to contact us."

"That's not a bad idea at all, Trish," Mortifer determined. "I'll see if I can do just that."

"Wait, Mortifer…" Aqua began. "What about your Voices? If you kill someone in this game, does it still affect you?"

My eyes widened, as even I had forgotten about the Voices. Mortifer never really told me if he receives the same consequence for killing people in the game. Even if it doesn't really kill them in the real life, I know that Mortifer believes that actions in the game will affect him in the real world. Not only that, Kirito told me in school that Mortifer may be struggling with finding the difference between the real world and the virtual one, which terrifies me a little bit.

"I don't exactly know if it's the action, or the thought, but yes, the Voices still do affect me even in ALfheim…" Mortifer admitted. "I killed a bunch of players during my first day here in ALO, and each of their Voices are now in my head. I do have a theory though… If I just stop viewing it as actually killing the player, then maybe the Voices won't react. However, if that doesn't work, then I am fine with burdening myself even more. After all, I cannot make you guys do all of the dirty work."

"Are you really sure about that Mortifer?" I asked him.

"Yes… I am absolutely sure," He affirmed.

"Well, that settles it then," Zed announced. "First we're going to need to get Rizer to make us new equipment. After that, Mortifer can make a post on the MMO Tomorrow. How are we going to meet up with clients?"

"We can tell them to meet us at Alne or Yggdrasil City. If they're at New Aincrad, then any of the cities with Teleport Gates will do. Other than that, we will only go to other locations if the client absolutely cannot go to the supposed meeting location. Also, this would be a good learning experience in fighting other players. ALO is a PvP game after all."

"May I ask, what kind of missions do mercenaries do here?" ViVi questioned.

"Protect and escort, quest-assistance, raids, theft, and assassinations," Mortifer listed them out. "Assassinations were pretty hard to pull off before that new patch Zed mentioned. Because of that, assassinations may become much more common if this kind of work is acceptable here in ALO."

"Do we have some sort of base of operations we can all meet up at then?" Aqua asked everyone.

"Zed and I have a small home at Yggdrasil City." Paradox stated, causing Zed to worry. "We can use that as our base for now."

"Paradox!" Zed cried out.

"Aw, would you look at that. Zed's embarrassed," Aqua teased him.

"I just want everyone to remember that all the Yrd you receive is for me to take. Other items you get however are yours for the taking. Are we in an agreement?" Mortifer restated for everyone to hear.

"Aye!" We all said in unison.

"All right then. First, Rizer is going to ask Lizbeth and see if he can use her forge for a bit. While that happens, we need to go get the materials he needs to make our equipment. I got the list right here with me."

Mortifer pulled out a short list of items that everyone began looking through. There were only fifteen items in the list, each needing a quantity ranging from one to five. The weapon that requires the most components seems to be Aqua's bow, which makes total sense. ViVi's staff requires the least components, as it only needs three _Elder Tree Wood_ , though those are located all the way at Sylph territory. All the rest of the materials seem to be in the northern regions of Alfheim, where many minerals and ores can be found at the Gnome's territory. This should take us a day or two overall, so it won't be long until we start our mercenary guild. If this doesn't succeed, then it will take a while till Mortifer shows us this secret project he's been hiding from me.

* * *

 **(Ai)**

 **7PM in the Evening, Yuzuki Household in Setagaya**

During our quest to find materials, everyone split up to go to different places. Zed and Paradox went south to Sylph territory to cut down some trees. With Paradox's Lumber ability, she can get a higher quality wood compared to all of us, giving ViVi a better weapon. There are also some nasty spiders in the forests that have a chance of dropping an uncommon material that Rizer wants to use for Aqua's bow. Konno, Trish and Aqua went to the Gnome capital and began mining ore there for Rizer to use. Mortifer and I stayed in the central plains to fight the more powerful monsters in the area for both money and materials. Rizer and Cayonz had yet to log in after coming back from work.

Right now, I am offline and back in the real world. Dinner is going to start soon, and it's a family tradition for everyone to eat together unless one has important business to take care of. I stood up from my master bed and put on a pair of warm, cozy slippers. I headed to my bedroom door and opened it. Our maid Kyoko was in front of my bedroom door, cleaning the marble floor with an electric sweeper. She noticed me exit my room and stopped her chores to bow towards me.

"Good evening, Ai-chan," she greeted me.

"Good evening, Kyoko-san," I greeted her back. "Has everyone gathered at the dining room already?"

"Everyone except for Hitori-kun. He's coming back from his internship right now, but he was caught up in traffic downtown."

"Good to know then."

I left Kyoko to continue cleaning the floor, and headed over to the staircase. I took my time and slowly descended the marble staircase, holding onto the wooden railing on my right in case I were to fall. There have already been several cases where I fell with these slippers. I have yet to get new ones, and I don't like going barefoot on the cold marble floor. When I reached the ground level, I picked up my pace and headed towards the dining area, which was just behind the staircase and in front of the entrance. I saw my mother and father already sitting down at the dining table, waiting for our food to be delivered by our butler and cook, Nagato. My mother was on her laptop, doing work, while my father was playing some video game on his tablet. My father noticed me first and greeted me with a smile.

"Ah! Good evening Ai-chan." He greeted me.

"Good evening Otou-san, Okaa-san," I responded. "When will Nagato-san be done with cooking our dinner?"

"Let's see here…" My father swiped across his tablet and moved it closer to his face. "He said he will be done in six minutes, give or take."

"That's good to know then. I'm hungry."

I took a seat at our large dining table, which can hold up to ten people. My father sat at the very end of it, overlooking everything between him and the entrance of the dining room. My mother sat on his left while I sat across from her. I took the rolled-up napkin in front of me and set it down on my lap. To kill time, I took out my phone and began watching random cat videos on YouTube. However, the first video hadn't yet loaded when my mom suddenly slammed her laptop shut. My father also turned off his tablet and set it aside. He leaned in towards the table and rested his arms on it. He set his chin on top of his locked hands and closed his eyes.

"Ai… A few days ago, on Saturday morning, Hitori was talking to Vitushi online," My father began mumbling out. "Vitushi was mentioning a person named Mortifer, whom you had apparently been waiting to see for the longest time."

My body froze solid and my heart began beating harder. Anxiety built within me as my father's words were being processed in my head. I had not told them about Mortifer because I've been scared of what their reaction would be. I had never had a boyfriend, or even hinted that I wanted one back before I was stuck in Sword Art Online. If I mention having a boyfriend now, especially one that I actually married in-game… They would've been completely shocked.

"Who is this Mortifer person, Ai?" my mother asked me.

"He's my boyfriend…" I told them. Both of their eyes widened. As I had predicted, they were completely surprised. "I met him soon after I was trapped in Sword Art Online. We stuck together throughout most of the game and became really close together…"

"A boyfriend?" My mother questioned. "Why have you not told us about this?"

I brought my feet up to the seat and rolled up into a ball. It's a very common thing I do whenever I am nervous around my parents on the dining table, and they picked it up a long time ago. I didn't say anything to them because I knew everything was going to be harder if I didn't tell them the truth. It's bad enough that they found out so early, and I have ViVi to thank for that. However, when I looked back at my mother, her expression showed wonder and joy, instead of the anger and seriousness one would expect.

"You should have told us yourself!" My mother exclaimed. "I know! Why don't you invite this Mortifer over to our house for lunch some time?"

"S-Seriously?!" I asked, completely bewildered at my mother's suggestion.

"Yes, my darling. Go on and invite Kirigaya-kun over to our house. We want to know what kind of man our daughter is interested in." my father encouraged.

"Did ViVi tell you his real name too?" I asked them since they called Mortifer by his family name. The two of them seemingly hesitated to answer.

"Yes… He did…" my mother responded, a hint of nervousness in her voice. Why do they look so nervous all of a sudden? Oh well… It doesn't matter now.

"I'll ask him tonight or tomorrow," I informed them. "What if he can't come or doesn't want to?"

"Well, I insist he comes over, but if he really can't, then that is fine. You still play with him in ALfheim Online, right? We can meet him there if you two don't mind." my mother suggested. They really do want to meet him, don't they?

"I'd rather just meet up in the real world…" I told them.

"Well, all right then… Nagato!" my mother called out. "How much more time?"

"One more minute Yuzuki-sama!" Nagato called out from the kitchen, which was a room down the hallway.

The three of us waited for our supper, resuming what we were doing before our conversation about Mortifer started. Nagato arrived a minute later in his typical black tuxedo and chef's apron. He pushed a large cart with steaming plates of food. It seems we are having curry tonight, as there is a pungent aroma piercing my nostrils coming from a pot. Surely enough, when Nagato set the pot down in front of us, I could see him scoop up some curry and pour it over three plates of rice.

"Please, enjoy the meal." Nagato politely said as he left with his trolley.

My mother, father and I set aside our devices and clapped our hands together in a prayer-like fashion. In unison, we all said:

"Thanks for the food."

* * *

 **(Mortifer)**

 **Three hours later,** **Misty Valley**

"You're lucky that Violet brought up the mercenary work Mortifer," Cayonz told me as we began building the outer walls, "That way, you didn't need to say it yourself."

"Yeah… I was trying to get other ideas since I wanted the mercenary work to be the last resort, but it seems that it really is the best way to make money in this game…" I responded. "But I was surprised when Violet brought it up, and relieved too. Because of her, I didn't have to bring it up myself. So Rizer, did Liz allow you to use her forge?"

"Yup. She said she can lend it to me tomorrow when she's online," Rizer stated. "Did you guys get all the materials I asked for?"

"Yeah, we did. We left all of the materials at Zed and Paradox's place in Yggdrasil City. Their home isn't too far from Liz's shop as well, making it a rather convenient place to leave the materials. Speaking of Liz's forge, do you know what we need to make our own forge here?"

"Yes, but it won't be that easy. The thing we need is in this super-hot dungeon called Devil's Valley. It's a moderate difficulty dungeon, but we have to partake in a slaughter-type quest an NPC at the entrance of the dungeon gives. In the end, he'll give us an item that can carry out magma from the dungeon itself, allowing us to use it for the forge."

"That means we're going to need someone who can cast a fire-resistance spell on us… Maybe I should bring Trish along. It'll be a new experience for her."

Cayonz and I continued to line up the stone bricks while Rizer created the large wooden door for the entrance. Since the walls weren't high enough to add in the hinges for the door, Rizer simply set it down on the ground and helped us make the walls of the establishment. Currently, we only have enough materials to make the walls for the entire first floor. I can't buy anymore materials since we had already gone bankrupt from the last trip. We badly need money to continue our project, so I am hoping we can take on the Field Boss tomorrow, and the Floor Boss by Sunday. I've also already contacted Thinker earlier tonight when I had dinner. He accepted my request to put our mercenary advertisement on the front page of the MMO Tomorrow's ALO section. Tomorrow, when Rizer makes our new equipment and Violet sews our new clothes, I will put up the ad and hope for the best.

 **The next day 4PM, Lisbeth's Shop in** **Yggdrasil City**

Both Rizer and Cayonz got off work early today for reasons they didn't state, though nobody is complaining about it. Because of this, we are able to get our equipment made now instead of later in the night. We went over to Zed's place and picked up the materials there, bringing it over to Lisbeth's forge just down the street. Every member of the guild as well as Kirito and Klein's group are present while Rizer proceeded to create us our weapons. During that time, Violet created us new clothing to go along with our armor, as well as everyone's signature black cloaks. Because of the new kinds of armor, styles and materials in the game, almost everyone's appearances changed except for my own.

Violet is wearing a purple corset very similar to the one she started with. The only difference is the higher quality material and stat boosts they give. With that, she wears tight black leather pants and boots. Dark purple gloves covered her hands while black mesh sleeves covered her arms. Her choker is now a simple black color with nothing special added on it. She also bought purple teardrop earrings in Alne to complete the set. She has her mask in her hands, with the mask being recreated from the one she had in SAO. Everyone else had their masks as well, though I am the only one wearing mine.

Rizer switched to Heavy Metal Armor from Light Metal Armor, making him look much more menacing than before. He now wears a bulky steel chest plate that had a faint outline of his abs. His shoulder guards were made of steel and shaped like the head of a wolf. He wears black cloth pants that were covered with metal plates, covering his thighs, knees, shins and calves. He is also wearing dark gray metallic boots and steel gauntlets. Because of his cumbersome armor, he is sacrificing the speed which he so badly needed to survive in SAO, but no longer needs in this game.

Paradox looks a bit like Asuna, wearing a white-blue shirt and armbands. She wears a blue, laced skirt above a shorter white one, and long sky-blue socks with white boots. She also has her brown pouch strapped to a gray belt around her waist. Her small dagger rested behind the small of her back, next to her magical wand.

Cayonz has the simplest outfit by far, only wearing a large blue kimono. He wears a dark blue shirt beneath it as well as blue cloth pants. He is wearing black military-like shoes on his feet, and black fur gloves on his hands. His katana is strapped to the left side of his kimono while he holds his wooden staff in his right hand. His appearance reminds me of Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings.

Zed is wearing a black and red gothic vest on top of a red long sleeve shirt. Metal straps and chains hold the two sides together like how a button-up shirt would. He is wearing red cargo pants that go well with his black military boots. Knives hang by his waist and they are also hidden inside his pants, as well as under his arm sleeves. He wears a new red bandana like a headband, and still wears the black ring on his hand.

Konno literally looks like an iron wall, as his armor is even bulkier than Rizer's. He wears an absurdly large chest plate, with pauldrons that are bigger than his own head. His steel vambrace and gauntlets make his arms look much bigger than they really are. This also applies to his cuisse and greaves, as his legs look like two giant steel beams. Konno's helmet is a shiny, metallic samurai helmet that is somewhat a detriment to Konno as it limits his vision greatly. His shield could very well be a giant steel door since it is as big as him.

ViVi has had a noticeable change as he no longer wears several layers of clothing. Because he complains about being cold all of the time, Violet made sure to make her cousin clothes that give high cold-resistance. ViVi is dressed in green robes that resemble that of a monk's garments. He has a white waistband holding his robes together, as well as his signature white scarf. He wrapped his arms with linen, allowing him to easily hold on to his staff and other objects. He is also wearing a pair of geta sandals, despite us warning him not to use them in a Player vs. Player game like ALO.

Aqua has taken her skimpy, real-life appearance and brought it into the game, causing other male players to look at her with perverted eyes. She wears a black and yellow tube top that only covered her breasts, leaving her belly exposed. She has a yellow loincloth to cover up some of her legs, but you can still visibly see her yellow short shorts from the side. Her golden sandals are outlined with small blue gems that are common here in ALO. Finally, she has black, fingerless gloves on her hands and yellow, frilly arm sleeves for a "cute" look, and to protect herself from the bow string rubbing on her arm.

Trish, who wore a simple gray blouse and pants back in SAO, has made a huge wardrobe change. She is wearing a white off-the-shoulder blouse that barely covers her stomach. A golden trim causes her top to shine in the light. A white, frilly skirt and a pair of knee-high white boots cover most of her legs. Her hands are covered in white, silk gloves that reached up to her upper arm. She had a golden ring on her right ring finger, and two golden bangles on her left arm. Gold, heart-shaped earrings hung from both ears, reflecting light occasionally. To top it all off, she dons a white witch hat with a golden brim.

"Are you not concerned in the least for your appearance?" Zed questioned Aqua. "You do realize that you are just begging other male players to gawk at you and conjure up dirty thoughts with that outfit."

"Pfft. I don't care," Aqua answered, rolling her eyes while doing so. She then smiled seductively before getting into an alluring pose. "In fact, I want them to look at me. It just tells me that I really do have a well-desired body that would make me a model. That way, I won't have to go study something like engineering or programming."

"There's no guarantee that you will become a model in the future you know…" Konno pointed out.

"In Japan, probably not. In the United States however, I'll be quite famous. But come on, let's talk about Trish's outfit!" Aqua squealed. She walked around Trish, playfully teasing her while doing so. "I love your skirt so much Trish! And that top… Are you wearing this to build up your confidence?"

"A-A bit…" Trish shyly responded. "Though I don't think I look as good as you do Aqua."

Aqua made an annoyed face and instantly went behind Trish. She wrapped her arms around Trish and squeezed her undeveloped breasts. Aqua moved her hands around in circles, smiling wickedly.

"Once these babies begin to develop, I'm sure you will be just like me Trish…" Aqua teased.

Trish's brown face flushed into a deep red before she began screaming out of embarrassment. Trish broke away from Aqua and began whacking her on the head with her magical staff.

"Dummy, dummy, dummy, dummy, dummy!" Trish cried out repeatedly.

Aqua, Paradox and Violet laughed while the rest of the us sighed. The bond those two have is nearly unbreakable. Since we were wasting time, I cleared my throat, making sure I coughed loud enough for everyone to hear. They turned their heads toward me and I stopped leaning against the wall.

"Let's stop with the chatter and get on with business," I demanded of the guild. Nobody complained, so I continued. "Sakuya, Alicia, and Eugene are already waiting for us over at Taran. Let's head over there now so we can take on the Field Boss."

"Whoa, hold on Mortifer!" Rizer called out from the forge. "Don't forget your swords now!"

"Ah… My bad…"

I made my way to Rizer, who was still hammering down on a black ingot. Right next to him is a sleek white blade that greatly resembled my beloved _Sword of Light_ from SAO. I have been given the honor to name this sword myself, and so I chose to call it _Lux_ , the Latin word for light. Of course, this other sword that Rizer is making right now will be called _Sanctus_ , the Latin word for shadow. Both _Lux_ and _Sanctus_ are made from strength-based metals, increasing my total damage output while reducing my attack speed due to its heaviness. Unlike my legendary swords from SAO however, Rizer will constantly have to repair them, as well as my _Buster Sword._ Because of this, I can't keep using them all the time or their durability and usefulness will wear away.

With a few more hits from the blacksmith hammer Lisbeth gave him, Rizer turned the black ingot into a sleek black sword with the same shape as _Lux_. Rizer took the sword, examined its stats and gave it to me. I did a few practice swings to make sure I was comfortable swinging it around. It felt just like _Lux_ , but with a little bit more weight during the swing. A screen popped up in front of me, asking me to name the black sword. I inputted _Sanctus_ into the empty box and the sword glowed momentarily before returning back to normal. Rizer gave me the blade's sheath and I strapped it on my waist, right next to _Lux_.

"All right… Now we can go to the boss."

* * *

 **Later that evening, outside the 2** **nd** **Floor Labyrinth**

We had managed to beat the Field Boss earlier in the day. It was different from the original Field Boss back in SAO, and it also had no health bars like _Illfang_ , making us assume that every boss from now on will have no HP bar displayed above it. It took us twenty minutes to take down the boss, and we spent the rest of the time going through the Labyrinth. Tensions between Eugene's party and the rest of the group continues to rise, especially between me and Eugene. The guy doesn't like it when I take lead of the party, but the only reason why I take the lead is because nobody else wants to.

Anyways, we managed to reach the tenth floor of the Labyrinth within a few hours. Just like what I did back in the 1st Floor, I rushed on ahead of everyone, discovering each staircase before everyone else. Currently, we are heading back to Taran to debrief quickly and go our separate ways. Everyone is flying back to the town while I simply walked on the ground, watching them from a distance. Soon, they became too far away to be seen against the darkness of the night. So, I looked straight ahead and continued to enjoy my stroll across the fields. After a while, I heard something coming towards me, and so I looked up and saw Violet hovering down to the ground.

"Violet? Why'd you come back?" I asked.

"Um… It has something to deal with real-world stuff…" she informed me.

"So… What is it?"

"My uh… My parents want to meet you…"

I was left completely dumbfounded, with eyes wide open in shock. I have devoted myself completely to Violet, but the obstacle I have yet to encounter are her parents. Violet hasn't talked much about her family, but since they are a rather rich family, I have an idea what they're like from my past experiences with the parents of a few of my friends. Asuna has strengthened my negative view on rich families because of her arranged marriage with Sugou. The only things impressive about me are my grades and kendo experience, but both of those are things of the past.

"Wait, did you tell them about me?" I asked her.

"They found out about you first from ViVi…" Violet explained. "He was talking to my brother, and ViVi assumed he already knew because of our family reunion trip."

"It would be ViVi… Oh well…" I sighed. "Is there a specific time and place they want to meet me?"

"There is no set time yet, but they want you to come over to my house and have lunch there," Violet stated. I choked up a little at her last few words.

"Y-Your house?" I asked nervously. She simply nodded, giving me more anxiety. "I-I'll have to think about the time, but sure…"

"Are you sure Katsumoto?" Violet addressed me with my real name. "Not once in my life have I told my parents I had a crush on someone, nor did I ever date anybody. This is pretty sudden for them, but they are eager to meet you, which worries me for some reason."

"I don't know Ai…" I answered. "I'm scared to meet them, but our relationship won't be going anywhere if I don't meet them. They'll worry if they have no clue who their own daughter is dating."

"Well, you better make a good first impression on them," Violet demanded. "I don't want them to hate you, nor do I want them to separate us."

"I don't want that either, but I don't have that many desirable qualities."

"You graduated at the top of your class, didn't you? You also got into the finals for the national kendo competition! You can mention your unravelling of Sugou Nobuyuki's evil plans in ALO, which basically allowed my father to buy ALfheim Online off of RECT Progress. He would be rather grateful for that."

"Then… How about next Saturday?" I asked her.

"I'll see if they can do next Saturday then," Violet said.

"Do I have to dress formally? I don't have any formal clothing."

"I'll have to check up on my parents with that. Sorry for the sudden notice Mortifer…"

Violet pulled herself close to me and hugged me. I hugged her back, taking in her body's warmth.

"What do you think they will say?" Violet asked.

"I don't know… Let's just hope for the best."

* * *

 **(Katsumoto)**

 **The next day, 4AM**

My eyes are hurting from staring at the computer screen. After debriefing, Rizer, Cayonz and I went back to go work on our project and finished up with the first floor's walls. We could've kept working on the project, but our lack of funds has prevented us from doing so. Because of that, the two of them decided to go to sleep while I stayed logged in. I went back to the Labyrinth to explore, and found the staircases all the way up to the thirteenth floor. All of that happened half an hour ago. I logged out then because my body was getting extremely tired. Even now, I am struggling to keep myself awake.

I am sitting down at my desk, looking at my computer's screen. I'm on the MMO Tomorrow website, and I'm trying to think up of what to do with this advertisement. Obviously, people will be viewing this post in many ways. Two of them however will be rather common. They will either look at this mercenary guild advertisement and laugh at it, or take it seriously and take note of our presence in the game. I just seriously hope this plan isn't a complete failure because I don't want to visit Jötunheimr any time soon. Those Evil-God class monsters are an absolute pain to take down by yourself due to their formidability, but I can deal with them if I must.

"Now… What to put…" I muttered to myself as I stared at the computer screen.

I began typing up the post for the forum, making sure to include every single important detail possible. Meeting places include Alne, Yggdrasil City, and every city in New Aincrad that contains a Teleport Gate. Unless the client absolutely cannot go to any of those locations, we won't meet them anywhere else. Payment must be done as soon as the mission is accomplished, and failure to do so will only make matters more complicated. All missions have a base price, and will increase depending on the circumstances. Assassinations and thefts are the most expensive missions while protect and escort are the cheapest. If our guild fails the mission, we will have to pay an amount nearly double of what was lost as compensation. If the client betrays us or is the reason for the mission's failure, payment must be made on the spot, whether it be with Yrd or with something else.

Finally, I added a photo of myself that Rizer took earlier. I was leaning on the Monument of Swordsmen, with my _Buster Sword_ by my side. Right next to my head are the names of the party leaders who helped take down _Illfang the Kobold Lord_ , mine being one of them. While I don't like posting pictures of myself for everyone to see, it is necessary since people know me better from what I look like because of the scene I made in Yggdrasil City. Hopefully people can recognize me.

"Man… If this is what my resume would look like, no company would ever hire me." I joked to myself.

The advertisement is so simple and unprofessional that I feel the need to redo it. However, I am way too tired to think up of more things to add, and I can just edit it later. Yeah, I'll just go to sleep now…

* * *

 **Afternoon**

"Onii-chan!" a voice called out. It's Sugu's. "Onii-chan, wake up!"

A loud banging sounded in my ear drums, and I slowly opened my eyes. Light filtered into the room, with most of it being blocked by my curtain. I looked at my computer, which I had forgotten to turn off earlier. A green notification light flashed on the monitor, signaling me that I had received an email from someone. Before I stood up from bed, I looked at the clock and noticed that it was one in the afternoon. I overslept again.

"Ugh… Yeah, I'm awake…" I moaned out as I stood up from bed.

"We're logging into the game right now. How long will you take?" Suguha asked.

"Depends. Did you make breakfast for me?"

"Yeah. It's grilled fish."

"Then give me half an hour. I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay."

I faintly heard Suguha's footsteps as she walked to her room and closed the door behind her. I walked over to my closet and brought out a new set of clothes. I drowsily walked over to the bathroom and headed inside. I got myself undressed and looked at the mirror. I have no doubt in my mind that Violet's parents will question me about this scar I have on my right eye. Even now, it still aches from the time Sugou had tortured me. I rubbed away the gound in my eyes and took out my phone. I opened up my music playlist and chose one of the songs to play.

As soon as it started, I jumped in the shower and let the cold-water flow. For the first few moments, I stood there and got myself used to the shockingly cold water. Afterwards, I began cleaning myself. I shampooed my hair first, then put on some conditioner before washing with soap. With the time I had left, I cleaned my face thoroughly with some special soap bar my aunt got for us. I rinsed out the conditioner in my hair and turned the tap off. I retrieved my towel and dried myself up. I put on my clothes and left the bathroom. There's no need for me to comb if I'm not even going outside the house.

I headed downstairs, with my towel still wrapped around my neck. I saw my breakfast sitting at the table, still steaming. I went ahead and sat down to enjoy my meal. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and accessed my email account. I opened my inbox and saw that I had received a notification from the MMO Tomorrow forum. It seems to be a private message from a user named SCR1BE. I opened up the message and began reading it as I ate.

 _Yo! I saw you in_ _Yggdrasil City_ _the night of the New Aincrad update. That fight you had with that silver-haired dude was so cool! Anyways, I saw your post on the front page of the site. I'm a new player, and I need help with a mission in this dungeon that is too hard for me. The dungeon is called_ _Devil's Valley_ _, and it's the_ _Blacksmith's Hearth_ _quest._

I almost spit my water out as I read the email. That's the same exact quest that Rizer needs to take for the forge. What a coincidence! With this, we can kill two birds with one stone. Get money to continue building, and get the item we need to create Rizer's forge. However, I do have some doubts. This guy contacted us way too fast. Sure, the post may have been on the front page, but it has only been a few hours before he sent this email. This guy must have been desperate for help, or this is some sort of trap. If it is a trap, it could work out depending on the circumstances, and we can get even more money if we manage to capture them. Either way, people will likely spread bad rumors about us if this really is a trap. If we get killed, they would say we are weak. If we beat them, they would say we are liars and we just bait them in to steal their belongings. I didn't think about any of this before I posted that advertisement…

 _If you guys would like to help me, then please send me when and where we should meet. If I don't respond right away, I'll likely be inside of the game. I hang around in_ _Alne_ _a lot and loiter around. From two to three o'clock in the day, I hang around at the player restaurant called_ _The Dream Oven_ _. You can meet me there today, or tomorrow. I can't do weekdays because I have schoolwork. Please help me!_

The email ended there. I looked at my phone and noticed that it has been twenty minutes since I woke up. Our client will only be at that restaurant for forty more minutes, meaning I have to hurry up and find him. I quickly devoured the rest of my food and placed my plate at the sink with all the other dirty dishes. I headed upstairs, placed my towel back in the bathroom, and ran to my room. I took my AmuSphere and placed it on my head.

"Link, start!"

* * *

 **(Mortifer)**

 **An inn within** **Taran**

The world formed for me through the rapid appearance of pixels. I was already hearing the noises of the people inside the inn before it all fully formed. I found myself sitting on a chair near the corner of the bar. Players have gathered around at the center, eating, drinking and conversing. I spotted my guild hanging around the front of the inn, talking with Kirito and Klein's group. All of them appear to be ready to head over to the Labyrinth, as they all have their equipment on them. I hurried over to them, making my way around the numerous tables scattered around the inn.

"Hey, Mortifer is here," Kirito announced as he looked right at me. Everyone turned their heads to me.

"Sorry, but uh, I can't go to the Labyrinth just yet," I told them.

"How come?" Violet asked me.

"I posted the ad for the mercenary stuff earlier this morning. It seems someone has already contacted me for a mission. Apparently, he's in Alne right now, waiting at a restaurant called The Dream Oven."

"Wait, mercenary work?" my sister asked me. "Is it for… you know?"

"Yeah, it's for that. We ran out of funds already, so I can't really reject this client. Plus, the quest he is asking us to help him or her on is the same quest we need to do Rizer, for the uh… Bucket…"

"Oh, really? What a coincidence!" Rizer exclaimed. "If that's the case, I'll go with you then."

"Oh, and Trish, I want you to come with us as well," I told her. "We're going to Devil's Valley, a medium-difficulty dungeon. I think it would be a good experience for you to go through."

"Wait, what about me and Cayonz?" Violet questioned me.

"An Undine's powers will be nullified in a fire dungeon, and burns will continuously reduce the amount of healing and apply a damage-over-time. As for you Violet, I'm trying to reduce the amount of people we send on missions at a time, as I want to get to the 3rd Floor as soon as possible. I also have a feeling that it may be a trap, but due to our desperate need for money, I can't decline this mission."

I swiped my left hand downwards and opened the Communications menu. I sent a trade request to Zed, who looked at me questioningly. I offered to give him all of my mapping data I had gathered last night and this morning and accepted the trade offer. He too accepted it without putting anything for me to receive and did so with hesitation.

"This morning, after everyone went offline, I went ahead to scout the Labyrinth a bit more," I informed everyone. "That has the mapping data all the way to the thirteenth floor. I've already mapped half of the floor, so it shouldn't be too hard to find the staircase to the fourteenth."

I opened my Party sub-menu and invited Rizer and Trish to join. Both of them accepted the invite without any questions. I then made my way to the door.

"I'm going to go meet with the guy now and talk about the mission's details. Unless I decline this mission, we won't be back for a few hours. See you guys later!"

* * *

 **Half an hour later,** **Alne**

We scrambled around the player-property district, trying to find where The Dream Oven was located. We only have a few more minutes before three, so we needed to be quick about it. The three of us darted around the streets separately, occasionally running into each other and into other players. Finally, I found a building with a sign that had the name The Dream Oven on it. I quickly messaged Rizer and Trish and burst the door open.

I instantly collided with someone who fell down on his butt because of it. I stopped myself from falling on top of him and rubbed my head as we had headbutted each other during the collision. I looked up to the player whom I had run into. He was a male Salamander dressed in maroon colored clothes. He wore this samurai-like armor that looked similar to Klein's armor.

"I'm sorry about that…" I apologized to him as I reached out my hand for him to grab.

Instantly he jumped up from the ground and held my hand with both of his hands. He grinned widely and had his mouth open wide in awe. He began jumping up and down, probably out of excitement. He stopped and backed away a few steps before spreading his arms out like a bird.

"You came!" he shouted out in glee. He then stood up straight and bowed towards me. "Hello, I am SCR1BE, but I'm called Verity in-game. Call me whatever you like. It's an honor to meet you, _Reaper-san_."

"Oh? Is that what people call me by?" I asked.

"Well, nobody really knew your name until that post. Plus, I heard that you told someone to call you that back on the 1st Floor," Verity explained.

"Yes, that's right. Two of my friends are on their way right now. They should be here any moment. Let's sit down and discuss this mission you want us to go on."

"Yes, let's!"

Verity led me to an empty table towards the center of the restaurant. I spotted a player towards the other side of the restaurant, cleaning the countertops and the tables. He was a Sylph who wore green clothes and a white apron. He must be the owner of this place. Verity and I took a seat at the table, sitting across from each other.

"Hey, Nozu! Can I have an order for your special!" Verity shouted to the Sylph.

"All right then. Give me five minutes to prepare it," Nozu responded.

At that moment, the door opened, causing a tiny bell above it to ring. Rizer and Trish walked into the restaurant, panting from running around Alne. They saw me and made my way towards me. Verity looked at them blankly before realizing that they were my friends. He smiled lightly as he watched the two of them take their seats right next to me.

"So, let's discuss the details of this mission you are hiring us for," I began. "You contacted me in the MMO Tomorrow's ALO forum, asking for help in the quest called Blacksmith's Hearth. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Verity answered. I continued my explanation of the mission to see if he knows what we're doing.

"This quest requires one to converse with an NPC at the entrance of Devil's Valley and partake in a slaughter-type mission. The mission is to kill hordes of the _Flaming Undead_ and collect one-hundred _Nether Salt_ , an item that is dropped upon the death of each _Flaming Undead_. This is the mission you need help on, right?"

"Yes, that is the mission. The _Flaming Undead_ are scattered throughout the dungeon. I can handle them solo, but most of them are found in the deepest parts of the dungeon, where more powerful monsters lurk. I am new to the game and do not have many items. I also do not have any high stats, and am limited due to the game's extreme combat system. That's why I am asking you guys for help in this mission."

"Before we continue, I have a question," Rizer began. "Why is a Salamander interested in becoming a blacksmith?"

"Oh, I don't want to become a blacksmith. My friend who is a blacksmith asked me to do this quest for him since he will be gone for the next few weeks. He told me he would make me this sick-ass sword for me when he comes back."

"Very well then…"

"So... Are you guys going to help me out?" Verity asked.

"If you have the money to pay us, then yes, we will," I told him. "How much are you willing to pay us?"

"Ten-thousand Yrd," Verity answered quickly. His quick response and low offer made me flinch a bit.

"That won't even be enough to cover the cost of the second floor…" Rizer whispered to me.

"I know I forgot to add the base costs of each mission on the post, but quest-assistance already has a base cost of Ten-thousand Yrd," I informed Verity. "Being a slaughter-type quest in a medium-difficulty dungeon, we will only accept anything at least twenty-thousand. Should something happen that deficits us due to your actions, the minimum price will only go up from there."

"Then twenty-thousand it is then, unless something happens of course. Though, I assure you that I won't be that much of a hindrance," Verity affirmed.

"Also, we were going to do this very same quest as well. Therefore, part of the _Nether Salts_ we ourselves will be kept as our own and will not add up to yours. Is that fine with you?" I asked.

"Absolutely. No problem. So, are we at an agreement?"

The Salamander reached out his hand for a handshake. Through my mask, I gazed into Verity's eyes, trying to see if there was anything fishy with the guy. Also, I forgot about making a contract template for every mission to ensure that none of our clients give us any bullshit. I'm going to have to do that before I accept the next mission, but for now, I'll settle with a handshake. I reached out and grabbed his hand. I firmly shook his hand, and he did the same. At that moment, Nozu, the restaurant owner, came by our table and set down a plate of salmon in front of us.

"Please, enjoy," Nozu smiled as he bowed. Verity gave Nozu a small bag of coins and Nozu took it right away.

I examined the plate of salmon in front of us. It was cooked on the skin, and had a light brown color to it. Pepper, herbs and spices visibly covered the fish, which steamed on the plate. Rizer sliced it open with a knife, revealing the pink-brown interior. Rizer took a bite of the fish and nodded in his in agreement.

"Tastes good," he said.

With that, Trish also got herself a slice of salmon and ate it along with Rizer. Not wanting to be rude, I took my fork and sliced off a piece of the salmon. Before putting it in my mouth, I noticed that the underside of my piece had a small hole on it, as if something had punctured it after it was cooked. I frowned behind my mask. I looked at Verity, who simply smiled as he waited for me to eat my piece. I pushed my mask upwards and put the piece of salmon in my mouth. I pushed the salmon towards the side of my mouth and faked myself eating it. I made a chewing motion with my mouth, tasting a bit of it on my tongue but not biting into it or swallowing it. I nodded towards Verity, who smiled and ate a piece himself. I took my napkin and wiped my mouth with it. During that time, I spat out the salmon and hid it inside of the napkin. I placed the white cloth on the edge of the table and let the salmon fall into my hand. I then stored it inside my pocket, making sure nobody sees anything. I pulled down my mask and stood up from the chair.

"Okay then. Let's go."

* * *

 **An hour later,** **Devil's Valley**

My breathing is ragged due to exhaustion. Even with the fire-resistance boost Trish gave us, the hellish features of this fiery field dungeon are still causing us to struggle. Killing off the _Flaming Undead_ is an easy task for Trish, Rizer, and I, but not so much for Verity. However, Verity does not need the fire-resistance boost and isn't as tired as we are due to his natural fire-resistance as a Salamander. If I had brought Zed along, we would've finished a long time ago. At least we only have a few more to kill before we need to head back to the NPC.

"How many do we have in total now Trish?" I asked.

"Uh, excluding Rizer-san's, we have ninety-four _Nether Salts_. Only six more to go." Trish informed us.

"All right! We're almost there!" Verity shouted in glee as he ran over to take on another _Flaming Undead_.

Suddenly, as he was about to attack the fiery zombie, Verity collapsed to the ground, causing me to widen my eyes in shock. The _Flaming Undead_ he was charging is now running towards the fallen Verity, who is lying on the ground without making any movements. I didn't call out to him, but instead chose to confront the monster right away. I quickly dispatched the zombie and kneeled next to Verity to turn him over. I looked at his health bar at the corner of my vision and noticed the yellow square with a lightning bolt next to his name. Paralysis? At the same time, Rizer and Trish also collapsed to the ground, unable to move at all.

"What the hell is this? There are no mobs here capable of inflicting paralysis, right Mortifer?" Rizer asked.

"No, there shouldn't be," I responded.

"That's because it wasn't a monster who inflicted the paralysis on you," a voice called out.

I turned to the origin of the voice and saw seven people appear from behind a hill. There were three Salamanders, two Gnomes, an Imp, and a Spriggan. One of the Gnomes dragged out another person in green clothes who also wore a chef's apron. The player turns out to be Nozu, whose hands are currently chained together.

"I see… So, did you threaten our chef here to drug the salmon with some slow-reacting paralysis poison?" I questioned them. "I admit, it was a very clever idea. However, you really shouldn't bruise up the fish so much just to put in a tad bit of poison. It becomes a bit suspicious, no?"

"I suspected that you didn't consume the fish," one of the Salamanders spoke. "No matter… Disabling three out of four of you is enough. Your friends won't be able to move for the next few minutes, so don't rely on them for any help."

"It's not like I needed their help anyway…" I said as I stood up and held _Lux_ and _Sanctus_ tightly in my hands. "Now tell me, why would you target us?"

"Almost everyone in SAO has heard at least a whisper of what happened a week ago upon New Aincrad's release," the same Salamander spoke once again. "A guy who went to-to-toe with an insanely powerful opponent who summoned meteors and moved insanely quick. This guy wanted to be called _The Reaper of Sorrow_ , and his real in-game name is apparently Mortifer. That's you, right?"

"And? What will you do if I am?" I asked.

All seven of the players drew out their weapons. The Salamander I was talking to brought out a one-handed sword and a small shield. The two others pulled out a short lance and a magical staff. One of the Gnomes brought out a giant shield as well as a one-handed war hammer, while the other one wielded a two-handed war hammer. The Imp wielded a curved dagger while the Spriggan held a long spear that appeared to be a yari. Their group was quite diverse, just like my own guild.

"All those stories are complete bullshit, and we're here to prove that to everyone," the Salamander spoke.

"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that?" I asked him, wanting him to make the first move.

"By beating the crap out of you!"

The six fighters charged me all at once while their mage stood back and recited incantations. Whether he was there for additional offense or support, I needed to stop him. I sprinted towards the mage, but the Gnome with the shield stood in my path. The Imp and Spriggan appeared on my left, and the Salamanders on my right. The Gnome with the war hammer stood between me and the other Gnome, acting as another obstacle to keep me from getting their mage. Seeing that I had no choice but to leave their mage for later, I jumped to the left to confront the Imp and Spriggan. The two of them stopped running, surprised at my sudden and quick charge. I went for the Imp, who tried running away in vain. I tripped the Spriggan and chased after the Imp, who I impaled with my dual blades. His health dropped down by a quarter before I began eviscerating him. He barely lived before his Salamander friends came to his rescue.

"Oh no you don't!" the Salamander with the lance shouted.

The two of them zoned me away from the Imp by standing in between us. The Gnome with the shield continued to protect the mage while the one with the hammer went to the Imp's aid. The Spriggan recovered and joined the Salamanders in their assault on me. Their mage finished chanting an incantation, which began healing the severely wounded Imp. Unless I take them down now, that mage is going to heal them right back up. I could either increase my damage output to eventually kill them through the mage's healing, or go for the mage immediately. However, that Gnome with the shield was in the way. The only way I could overpower him was with the _Buster Sword_ , but I haven't used it in PvP yet, nor did I have it equipped. I'm going to have to run while changing my weapons.

I sheathed both my blades and broke off into a sprint. The Salamanders and Spriggan chased after me, throwing out taunts since I was running away from them. During that time, I kept my hand steady as I navigated my Inventory. I found the _Buster Sword_ and quickly stored my twin blades back into my inventory. I equipped the sword, which began materializing under my black cloak. I ripped my own cloak away, revealing my head while my face is still covered by my mask. I unsheathed the _Buster Sword_ and held the colossal weapon with both hands. The Salamanders and Spriggan stopped their charge, surprised at the massive weapon. Before I could make a move, they all began to laugh.

"Ha ha ha! And what are you planning on doing with a sword like that?!" the Salamander with the sword, whom I am assuming is their leader, laughed out. "That thing is so big, I bet you can't even attack properly with it!"

"We'll see about that," I responded.

I ran towards them, and they readied their weapons, holding them in front of their faces as if expecting for an attack to block. However, I didn't attack them, but instead, I jumped over them. I stepped on their heads, using them as stepping stones to get away from them. I met the hammer Gnome and the Imp, who was still in the yellow zone. The Gnome jumped in between me and the Imp, and he swung his hammer to attack. I parried it, sending his war hammer flying since I had put in much more force than he did. The Imp then watched in total fear as my blade cut right through his chest, killing him instantly. At that moment, a new Voice screamed in my head, causing my senses to dull slightly. I pushed it back and tried not thinking about it as killing them, but rather making them go to a different place.

"You're going to pay for that!" the Spriggan shouted as he lunged at me with his spear from behind.

I narrowly dodged his yari, and I pushed it away using the blunt end of the blade. I slashed my sword in front of me, causing the Spriggan and the two Salamanders to back away. The Gnome scrambled for his war hammer, allowing me to confront the other Gnome guarding their mage. Using all of my might, I leaped into the air, performing a summersault and swinging my sword over my head. The _Buster Sword_ made contact with the shield, making a loud ringing noise and causing the Gnome to fall to the ground from the force. The mage backed away in fear, and he broke off into a sprint. He was a rather slow sprinter, so I wasted no time and threw my _Buster Sword_ at him. The giant sword flew through the air and cut a deep wound into the guy's right leg. He tripped and fell, giving me the perfect opportunity.

I pulled out several throwing knives, and quickly threw them at the fallen Salamander. I threw about a dozen knives but it only brought him a little bit below half of his health bar. The other guys were catching up, so I increased my pace and reached for my _Buster Sword_. The Salamander mage stood up, with knives still inside his back, and continued sprinting away while drinking a healing potion. This time, I chased him down, and with one hard-hitting combo, his avatar lost the last of its HP and perished. The other five attackers stopped in their tracks and looked at me with rage-filled eyes. I looked at them tauntingly, smiling mischievously behind my mask. I rested my _Buster Sword_ on my right shoulder, which caused me a bit of stress due to the weight. With my left hand, I motioned for them to come whilst saying:

"Bring it on."

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a giant fireball blasted the Spriggan from behind, sending him flying towards me. I dodged his airborne body, which then landed on the rocky floor of the field dungeon. I looked back in front of me and noticed Trish standing behind the remaining Salamanders and Gnomes. Rizer is right behind her, giving Verity a potion. Both of them stood up and drew out their weapons.

"What?! You guys should still be paralyzed for a few more minutes!" their leader shouted.

"Sorry bud, but your paralysis poison isn't as strong as you thought it would be." Rizer shouted back. "After a few minutes, I could move my arms around just a little bit. It took me a while, but I managed to cure myself from it using a potion."

"Impossible! No simple paralysis cure can counter the effects of a poison created by someone with a high Mixing level!" the shield Gnome shouted.

"That's right. But the it just so happens that we have someone in our guild who has Completed their Mixing, making our potions and poisons much more potent than your own." Trish smiled.

"You… Don't think that makes you better than us!" the Spriggan yelled.

The Gnomes and the Spriggan charged towards Rizer, Trish and Verity, while the two Salamanders chased after me. Trish broke off into a sprint before they got close since she knew Rizer nor Verity can protect her from an attack while fighting off another person. The Gnome with the Warhammer confronted Rizer. The one with the shield went for Verity. The Spriggan chased after Trish, but Trish was outrunning him completely. I looked at my own opponents and determined that the _Buster Sword_ is still too heavy for me to use in a two-on-one situation. It doesn't seem like I have the time to run away and switch weapons anymore since they were only two meters away. I chose to throw aside my sword and fight them unarmed.

The Salamander with the sword tried aiming for my head, but I used my bracers to make it slide over my head. I narrowly dodged the lance, and quickly pushed the lance Salamander into his own friend. The two of them stumbled and fell to the ground. The lance-user quickly recovered and tried piercing me once again. However, I quickly dodged the attack and threw disarmed the guy, taking his lance for myself. Without even thinking, I spun around and threw it at the other Salamander, who looked down to see the lance pierce his stomach. He fell to his knees and tried pulling the lance out of him, but to no avail. As for the other Salamander, I grabbed his shirt and pants, and threw him towards a nearby lava pit. The moment his body plunged inside the lava, he instantly disappeared in a flash of pixels. I looked at the last Salamander, and went over to pick up my _Buster Sword_.

"If you guys really wanted to crush us, you should've have brought an entire raid party," I told him. "After all, not all raid bosses have to be NPCs."

"S-Screw you!" the Salamander shouted.

With one swift strike, I slashed across the Salamander's chest, bringing his health down to zero. His head dropped as his body disappeared in a burst of pixels. I turned towards everyone else and saw that they had finished the rest of them off. Trish came out unscathed, making me assume she outran the Spriggan until Rizer or Verity could come to assist her. Rizer and Trish ran over to me while Verity went over to Nozu to get out of his bindings. Afterwards, the two of them joined the three of us, and we all stood in a circle.

"I'm so sorry… I didn't expect any of this to happen," Verity apologized.

"No, it's my fault…" Nozu moped. "I was the one who put the poison into the food I served you. They threatened me and I was scared out of my mind when they did so."

"It's fine," I told them. "We managed to live through it, so no worries."

"H-How much more do I have to pay you guys because of this?" Verity asked, making me confused.

"No, I'll pay for the extra cost Verity," Nozu offered. "After all, if I wasn't such a coward, you wouldn't have to pay extra."

"You guys realize you don't have to pay us extra, right?" Trish questioned them.

"Huh?" they said in unison.

"The agreement was that you would pay us twenty-thousand Yrd upon the completion of the quest. Extra costs will be included should the client's actions cause us to be at a disadvantage," I began explaining to them. "Verity, you were the one who ordered Nozu's special salmon, but you were not intending on poisoning us, right?"

"R-Right…" Nozu answered.

"Nozu, if you were our client, I would charge you more because you yourself added the poison. However, because you aren't the client, no costs will be added. Either way, those guys were targeting us to begin with and only used you guys as tools. Therefore, in our point-of-view, there is no reason to charge you guys more than what was agreed upon."

The two of them looked at us stunned. After a few moments of silence, they both nodded their heads.

"So, what do we do now?" Verity asked.

"Well, we finished our mission," Rizer stated. "Those guys dropped some _Nether Salt_ when we killed them, so we have more than enough. They also dropped a bunch of crappy items and about ten-thousand Yrd. We'll keep that as our own reward for beating those guys."

Rizer opened up his Trade menu and sent a request to Verity. He gave the Salamander one-hundred _Nether Salts_ while Verity offered him the agreed payment for helping him complete the mission. When Rizer looked at his trading screen, he furrowed his brows.

"Hey, you're giving me forty-thousand Yrd. We told you there is no extra cost," Rizer stated.

"I know that. The extra twenty-thousand isn't for completing the mission. Consider it as the tip, for helping me out," Verity smiled brightly. Every one of us smiled back. Rizer accepted the trade offer and the screen disappeared.

"All right then. Let's get out of this hell hole," I suggested.

"Yeah!"

* * *

 **Two hours later, 2** **nd** **Floor Labyrinth**

"So, you only have one new Voice in your head?" Rizer asked me as we made our way to the Safe-Zone Area in the Labyrinth.

"Yeah. The only new voice in my head is that Imp's," I told them. "I tried thinking of it as not killing them but just getting them out of my way. I also tried thinking of the game as an actual game and not real life. Because of SAO, I've been struggling with that a lot. If I continue practicing this thought process, then I can ease my suffering and be able to participate in any mission."

"Good for you Mortifer-san," Trish beamed. "Oh, and did you guys hear about the newest update coming out next week on Tuesday morning?"

"No, why? What's inside of it?" I asked.

"They're bringing back the Sword Skills from Sword Art Online and adding the combat-assist function!"

Rizer and I looked at her with surprise.

"Oh? Really now? That'll make the boss raids even easier as long as we're cautious," Rizer determined.

"They also added a new system called Original Sword Skills," Trish began. "Basically, it's a system that allows a player to create their own Original Sword Skill, which they can later modify to add an elemental aspect to it and even share it with other players. As long as the player meets the required speed, power, and number of attacks, they can make any kind of Sword Skill. The only problem however is the fact that the player is not assisted by the system, meaning they are limited to their actual body's strengths."

"So, if the person isn't athletic or skilled enough, they can't utilize the system?" I asked her.

"Basically, yes. However, if you are good enough to do so, they say that players can make devastating Original Sword Skills since there is no combo limit set. I also heard you can do it with more than one weapon as well," Trish continued explaining.

"Oh, that means I can recreate my Dual Blades attacks and other stuff. Though I highly doubt I can recreate _The End_ from my Darkness Blade. I don't even remember the exact attacks, nor is it physically possible for a human being to do it."

"You sure you're still a human being Mortifer?" Rizer joked.

"Outside of the game, yeah. In-game, probably not," I answered.

The three of us continued walking to the Safe-Zone Area. We avoided all of the monsters since we were getting late for a meeting that's being held soon in the Safe-Zone Area. After we completed our mission, I messaged Violet about our success, and she told me that they had already found the boss room thanks to Eugene's group. They apparently rushed on ahead, just like what I did, and managed to find all of the staircases and even the boss room.

"Oh, there it is!" Trish exclaimed, pointing towards a small archway with two small torches on either side. I could see everyone gathered around a large rock several meters away from the archway.

Trish broke off into a sprint, entering the Safe-Zone Area forcefield, causing the air around the archway to shimmer slightly. She shouted to everyone that we had arrived, causing everyone to smile and wave their hands. Aqua ran to Trish and wrapped her arms around her best friend, congratulating her on completing the mission. Violet also rushed over to me while Rizer just went to meet up with everyone else.

"So, how much money did you get from your first client?" Violet asked.

"Forty-thousand Yrd, plus a little extra from some players who were trying to ambush us," I told her.

"Did you kill those players and, you know…"

"Not entirely. I caused the deaths of four players, but I only obtained one new voice. I sort of learned how to differentiate reality from the virtual world."

"Oh, that's good! I'm proud of you guys!" Violet exclaimed as she gave me a hug. "Come on. Let's join everyone else. We're planning on taking the Floor Boss today!"

"Oh? Already? Well, not that I'm complaining. At least we can get the guild quest even faster," I determined. "Alright, let's go then."

* * *

 **Three days later, Tuesday 8PM, 3** **rd** **Floor**

The new ALO updates arrived earlier this morning, causing every player of the game to log on even if they had school work to do. The Sword Skill update Trish mentioned was indeed implemented into the game, bringing back the same exact Sword Skills Sword Art Online had for each available weapon in this game. Since all of us already had a high level in our weapon Skills, we're able to use every single Sword Skill available to us while others still have to work for it.

The thing I'm most interested in however, is the Original Sword Skill system. Before I logged in, I exercised my real-world body for a bit at the family dojo, stretching my muscles and practicing complex, and quick movements. I recreated the Dual Blades move Double Circular in the real-world and tried recording it in-game using the OSS system. Unfortunately, the system seems to only accept OSS with combos of three or more attacks. The speed and power requirements are also a lot higher than I expected, as even I could not record a simple combo.

Anyways, while the guild was in school, I went on ahead to complete the quest that grants me full access to the Guild option in the menu, and even allowing me to create my own guild. With Violet's help, we created a new guild emblem that will be displayed next to our names in our avatar's HUD as well as our names in the Monument of Swordsmen. The emblem we chose was similar to the original tattoo I had on my back inside of SAO. Before, the skull rested inside of this egg-like object, but it's different now. We drew it so it now held a white ribbon with the Japanese characters "love" and "sorrow" on it.

"How much have our edge levels risen by?" Violet jokingly asked.

"Tenfold? A hundredfold? Who knows?" I answered her whilst smiling.

I took the drawing of our emblem and assigned it to be our guild's logo. After I configured a few more options, I inputted our guild's name into the box. I confirmed all of the settings and my screen of light disappeared. I looked at the top left corner of my vision and saw that everyone in the party now had the same emblem next to their name. I checked my friends' list and noticed it on everyone else's as well. We all smiled and I put my hand out in front of me. Everyone already knew what to do and they put their own hands on top of mine.

"Before, we were known as villains, but we were also known as one of the strongest," I began speaking. "Whether we become good or bad people in this game has yet to be determined. However, there is one thing I am sure of… We're not going to let anyone else take our spot as the strongest guild!"

"Hell yeah!" ViVi excitedly shouted.

"I can't wait to start our mercenary work," Zed smiled mischievously.

"Oh, I can tell this is going to be fun," Rizer also smiled.

"This marks the rebirth of the _Reapers of Sorrow_!" I shouted out. In unison, we raised our hands to the air and cried out for the world to hear us.

"Banzai!"


	5. Chapter 4: Meeting the Yuzuki Family

**(Katsumoto)**

 **The next day 2PM, Akihabara**

Last night, Violet had told me that I could wear anything I want when I go visit her home in Setagaya. Because of that, I came here to look for cheap clothes that suit my style since my current clothes are all old and no longer fit Akihabara probably wasn't the best choice for clothes shopping, but I managed to find a few things that I liked. As I shopped around, I noticed an electronics store that was about to close. Almost everything was on sale and even the most expensive of items were affordable. I found a high-quality security camera set that was less than ten-thousand Yen, and it provided me with at least ten weatherproof cameras. I heard there was this robbing spree in Saitama prefecture, so I thought I may as well get it. I paid the cashier the money and exited the store, holding my bag of clothes and electronics.

I walked down the crowded streets of Akihabara, and headed towards the parking lot where my car was located. As I walked, I looked around and noticed a jewelry store on my left. Part of the store provided real, expensive accessories while the other part had some more creative, and more artistic goods. I looked at the items displayed at the window and saw the cheap price tags. I took out my wallet and looked at my money left inside.

"Less than twenty-thousand Yen…" I mumbled to myself. "Oh, I forgot to get my allowance from Oba-san. Oh well…"

I saw no harm in entering the store, and so I did. I pushed the doors open, and walked into some sort of entryway. A door on my left led to the real jewelry store, while the door on my right led to the artsy side. I headed to my right and noticed that the store was rather empty. Two customers were currently inside along with a single staff member. I turned to look at the jewelry store and noticed the greater number of people there.

"Well, makes sense…" I thought to myself.

I browsed through all the different items in the store. Not only were there rings, earrings, necklaces and other accessories, but they were also selling otaku-themed items. Props, costumes, video games, music, and even more. However, the item that caught my attention was this one silver ring. It was a simple silver band with a black center. Intricate designs were engraved in the black area to make the plain ring more special. Because it was in a glass case, I had to ask the cashier for permission to see the ring up close. He gave me the ring, and I began to observe it carefully. The engraving depicted a thicket of thorns wrapped around the ring. Small crystal-clear gems that were probably fake were embedded into the main thorn that circled around the entire ring. At the other side of the ring however, I noticed its most defining feature. A single silver skull with red gemstone eyes stared right at me whilst biting down on the thorn going through its mouth. I inserted my ring finger through the ring, and noticed that it didn't fit. However, when I used my middle finger instead, it was perfect. Detailed, symbolic, edgy, and fits well. I like it…

"How much for this ring?" I asked the cashier. I gave him the ring, and he began to run a price check. Not a moment later, the man frowned.

"Weird, this ring is supposed to be sold in the other store," the man stated. "I don't know why it's here, but our stores are partnered. Please follow me to the other store."

The man walked out from behind the counter, and motioned for me to follow him. We exited the otaku store, and entered the real jewelry store right beside it. A few more customers were browsing inside. All of them wore fancy outfits, such as suits and dresses. The cashier made his way to one of the lady staff members, and asked her about the ring. The two of them searched it up on the database, and motioned for me to come to them.

"Okay, so this ring is two-hundred and seventy-five thousand Yen."

"Two-seventy-five?! Why is it so expensive?!" I asked bewildered.

"As I said, this item is supposed to be sold in this store, which contains the real jewelry. The ring itself is made of platinum, and the black inlay is of tungsten. The thorns and the skull are made up of platinum as well, and those jewels are all real. Those small gems on the thorns are real diamonds. There are twenty-five diamonds in total with a total weight of half a carat. The eyes are made of rubies, with a combined weight of half a carat. It's on sale right now. The original price was three-hundred and twenty-five thousand Yen."

"Jeez… And here I thought those gems were fake…" I said, scratching my head in the process. "When does this sale end?"

"Unfortunately, it ends this Saturday," the lady informed me. "Will you buy it now?"

"Damn… That's too bad then. I can't afford it."

I gave the cashier back the ring who then handed it to the lady staff member. She checked the database once more, and placed the ring at its correct location next to a bunch of other artistic rings. How could a ring that expensive end up in some otaku store? With that, I sighed and walked out of the store.

"A three-hundred thousand Yen… It'll take me months to save up for that ring, and Ill likely regret buying it later…" I muttered to myself. "Let's just see how it all goes."

* * *

 **(Mortifer)**

 **Three hours later,** **Yggdrasil City**

I returned from Akihabara almost two hours ago. Because I knew nobody was online at that time, I decided to use that time to set up the security camera system I bought. I tried my best to use the cameras efficiently, and scattered all ten of them around the house. I placed two cameras on the columns of the front gate to overlook each side of the street. A third is located inside one of the bushes of our driveway. I placed the fourth on top of our family dojo with a view of the gate, driveway and front yard. The fifth is placed underneath the roof of our house's front porch. I angled it to make sure that the entire front yard and a little bit of the porch is in view. The sixth, and final exterior camera was at the back of the house. Because it was blocked off by a stone wall and a neighboring house, I thought I wouldn't need as many in the back, but used one to make sure. As for the other three, I placed one in the front foyer, the second in the living room, and the last one in the hallway of the second floor.

By the time Kazuto and Suguha arrived from school, I finished with the preparations, and connected the cameras to my computer. I finally found a use for my third monitor which I had left inside of my closet to pile up dust. I hooked up the security cameras to be displayed on the third monitor while the other two remained normal. When I told my siblings about the new security system I installed, Suguha simply laughed while Kazuto said nothing. That all took me about an hour to complete. During that time, I also learned that basically everyone in the SAO Survivor School has a big test tomorrow, so nobody has logged on. With that, I logged into the game alone.

For the past hour, I've been sitting at the top of the city's cathedral, writing contracts, and observing the players below me. Because of our growing popularity, we now have to hide when there are many people around. Although, I am usually the only one who does that since I'd rather not be around so many people. The ones who are comfortable with the frenzy include Aqua, Zed, and Violet. Trish is also quite popular, but she is still trying to break out what's left of her tiny bubble. I can't even begin to talk about the number of male players who lust for Aqua, or the number of female players who cry out for Zed. I hear it is far worse in school from Kirito and Violet.

As to why we became so popular, it's all thanks to Verity and Nozu. During our fight with those players who ambushed us, Nozu had recorded the entire thing with a special _Video Recording Crystal_. We weren't aware of his actions then, and he had posted it on the MMO Tomorrow, where it reached the front page in a matter of hours. People commented on my fighting skills and "bad-assery", and I became well-known. Nozu had linked our mercenary forum post next to the video, and advertised our group to the whole community. Because of that, our popularity rose, and people began to hire us for missions.

In the past three days, we had received ten missions total. Seven of them were quest-assistance missions. Two of them were "protect and escort" while the last one was an assassination. Yesterday, I had told the guild that as of now, only Zed and I are able to take on the assassination missions, which disappointed ViVi to an extent. Luckily, the non-assassination missions we received were easy, meaning anybody could take it. Although, I made it a requirement to never go on missions alone. Of course, I was the only exception to this rule, and nobody opposed.

Right now, I am writing up the contract for the first quest-assistance mission that ViVi, Konno and Violet will be taking. I will go with them to meet with the client in Zumfut in two days, but I won't go with them on the actual quest. Our client is asking us to help him in the Guild Formation Quest at the 3rd Floor, which should be easy for those three. Being an easy quest, fifteen-thousand Yrd should be a reasonable price for our services.

With that, I rolled up the piece of paper, and stored it inside a cylindrical case. I proceeded to jump off the cathedral, and summoned my wings mid-air. I flew towards Zed and Paradox's home in a brisk pace and arrived there in a matter of seconds. I touched down, and pulled out the keys to the house. I inserted the keys into the keyhole and unlocked the wooden door. I opened the door and made my way inside. I closed the door behind me, and pulled down my hood along with my mask. I made my way to the living room, holding the scroll in my right hand. Before I turned the corner, I stopped in my tracks because I heard noises inside of the living room. I furrowed my brows, as I didn't expect anybody to be on at this time. After all, they have some big test to study for. I leaned my back against the wall, and silently listened to the noises.

I hear the sound of lips smacking and heavy breathing coming from the living room. Because of the dirty sounds that are reaching my ears, I let out a long, heavy sigh. Did Zed and Paradox really just log on to make out with each other? Either way, they will probably keep at it for a while. My patience will run out if I wait too long, so I have no choice but to interrupt their private session.

I closed my eyes and let out yet another sigh. With eyes still closed, I moved away from the wall, and turned around the corner. I scratched my head as I said:

"You know Zed, if you're going to have such an intimate meeting with Paradox, you should probably hold it in your bedroom."

The noises of kissing and breathing stopped, replaced with silence. When I opened my eyes, they opened to the point where my eyeballs could have popped out. The shock I experienced at that moment caused my brain to malfunction. What I saw in front of me was not Zed and Paradox making out on the couch, but Trish and Aqua instead. Trish was underneath Aqua, half-naked and completely shocked. Aqua was on top of Trish with her friend's white blouse still in her hands. The three of us stared at each other for several seconds before we snapped back to reality.

Trish quickly grabbed for her blouse and covered her chest. Aqua got off Trish, and stormed her way towards me. Aqua raised her hands up and prepared to slap me. I made no movements to stop her, and her hand made contact on the right side of my face. Her slap caused me to stumble even though I felt no pain. I felt a numbness on my right cheek, but it quickly disappeared. I fully deserved that slap, which is why I made no effort to stop her. I slowly recovered myself and turned my head to face the two of them. Trish had her blouse on once again, but her face was visible red. Aqua also had a red face, though she was more pissed off than embarrassed. Her body shook as she panted continuously. I looked down to the ground out of shame.

"I'm sorry…" I apologized to them. "I thought you guys were Zed and Paradox… I didn't bother checking to see if it really was them…"

"You… You can't tell anyone about this, got it?" Aqua shakily demanded of me. Her eyes began to tear up. "You can't tell our classmates, our friends, the guild, and especially our parents… Promise us that you won't tell anyone!"

Aqua's voice is filled with desperation. She's on the verge of bursting out into tears while Trish simply sat on the couch, contemplating about what was happening.

"I promise…" I told her in an empathetic tone. After I did so, I quickly changed back into my normal voice. "But, can you tell me one thing?"

"W-What?" Aqua sniveled.

"Why are you guys so embarrassed about me seeing you like this?"

The question caught the two of them off-guard. They stared at me blankly, as if the question I asked them hadn't even registered. I placed my hand on Aqua's shoulder and gently squeezed it. She looked up at me, confused.

"Are you embarrassed because I saw you guys making out, or because I now know of the relationship between you two?" I asked them once again.

"I-I don't know…" Aqua stuttered. "Both?"

"I understand being embarrassed about being seen making out like that, but why should you be embarrassed about the two of you being together?"

"Well…" Trish began to speak up. "It's not normal… Our classmates will see us as weirdos. Other Japanese people will likely think the same. There aren't laws that ban or discriminate against our kind, but I heard you can't marry someone of the same sex here in Japan. Not that I'm thinking about it…"

"Weirdos? _Your_ kind?" I asked her, bewildered. "You're scared of being viewed as weird people? Of being called lesbians? You're seriously going to let other people determine how you live your life?"

"We're not like you Mortifer…" Aqua whimpered. "We're not as strong as you are, both physically and mentally…"

"I understand that you guys aren't like me, but at least let your parents know how you feel about each other. Same thing goes for the guild. You can't keep hiding it forever, although, some in the guild may suspect you guys are lesbians already…"

"We're planning on telling them, eventually. Right now, though, I want you to keep this a secret from them… We've kept your secrets hidden from others, even if it is something that should be told. You need to do the same for us…" Aqua pleaded. "Until the two of us are ready, it must be kept a secret. Do you promise us?"

I looked at Aqua's puffy eyes. They fumed with rage, but also with desperation. I sighed and nodded my head.

"Fine… I promise…" I told them. I pulled out a piece of cloth and began rubbing the tears off Aqua's face. "You guys should tidy up, and compose yourselves. The game's engine will keep creating these tears until you calm down."

Aqua took the cloth into her own hands and sat down. Trish was seated right next to her. She had a pillow wrapped in her arms, and was utterly crushing it to death. Her body shook from fear while her face was still red from embarrassment. No tears fell from her eyes, unlike Aqua. Trish proceeded to lie down, resting her head on the pillow she had. Aqua did the same, but instead lied down towards the opposite side of the couch. I left the two of them there, and made my way towards the office desk towards the corner of the living room. I opened the drawer containing the other contracts, and placed the cylindrical container inside. It rolled into place in between the other scrolls, and remained still. I proceeded to close the drawer, and pulled up a chair for me to sit on. I peeked over to check on Trish and Aqua, and noticed that they had fallen asleep. If I don't wake them up in half an hour or so, they will automatically log out, though I doubt they would care if I wake them up or not.

Since the two of them were asleep, I opened my Inventory and took out a blank scroll as well as an ink pen. Cayonz, Rizer and I started working on the second floor of our project, but we don't have enough funds to finish even a quarter of the floor. It was probably because we kept buying the most expensive and highest quality stone we could find in Kalifa.

If we accomplish all of the missions we currently have without fail, then we can probably finish the second floor. That leaves the rooftop and the towers. Oh, but we still have the interior stuff to deal with. Rizer can make the furniture, but the wood he needs to make them is quite expensive on its own as it is much like ebony. We can try cutting down the trees with the help of Paradox, but the yield and quality would be low as her Lumberjack level isn't high enough. Everything needs to be of the highest quality because that is the only way I will be satisfied with this project of ours.

Anyways, with the time I have now, I can start making the plans for the arena that we can place next to the entrance. I am thinking about placing it towards the right side, but I feel like a forest on the left side won't balance out the enormous building. Putting it in the middle will block the view from the entrance, while placing it on the left will only create the same imbalance. I don't think the back of the valley contains enough space for this arena, so I can't place it there either. We're going to need to terraform the landscape if we want to build it, but it seems like we really can't place this thing anywhere inside this valley I own. Although, if I can create a flat region even higher above the garden, then that would be an ideal location for the arena…

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, disappointed by the fact that I could not make the arena. We planned on a huge training area at the ground floor, but the way we created it resulted in it being too small for aerial combat, and a bit cramped up for ground combat. I rolled up the incomplete plans for the arena, and stored it inside another cylindrical case of a different color from the rest. I put it inside the same drawer, and pushed it back into the large desk. I opened my menu and checked on the time.

It is currently five-thirty in the afternoon. Everyone will likely get on at around six or so. When that happens, I need to converse with them about how these missions are going to work out, and who will be taking which mission. I hope nobody complains since I've already written down the contracts. We'll just have to wait and see.

* * *

 **(Violet)**

 **Half an hour later**

I was the last to log on in the group. According to everyone else, Mortifer, Trish and Aqua were amongst the first people here. Mortifer was understandable since he has no school, but I expected Trish and Aqua to be one of the last ones. It was unusual for them to be so early, especially with the test coming up tomorrow.

We were gathered around the dining table. Mortifer was the only person who was seated while everyone remained standing. Ten scrolls lied on the table in front of Mortifer. Based on what he had told me yesterday, those scrolls were the contracts he had written for the missions. It seems we were finally getting our first missions.

"Okay, I want to make this quick and easy, so save any questions you have for later," Mortifer requested as he began our meeting. "In case you forgot, we received ten different missions from different clients. While you guys were at school, I took the time to create the contracts which we and our client will have to abide to. As I told you guys, Zed and I will be the only ones taking the assassination missions for now, and I reserved the first one for me."

"I wouldn't have wanted to do it anyway…" Zed mumbled.

"Anyways, I'll assign you guys the missions now, but since you have a test tomorrow at school, you will take your missions Thursday and Friday. For each mission, I have assigned a team captain who will be responsible for leading every guild member participating in the mission."

Mortifer picked up three of the scrolls and gave it to Zed. Zed mumbled something I couldn't hear, and took the scrolls from Mortifer's hands. Trish and I received two scrolls each. Mortifer took the final three for himself.

"I suggest you guys read the missions now, along with the people going along with you. If there are any mission details that needs discussing, then come to me as soon as possible. That's all I really have today, so this meeting is at its end."

Mortifer stood up from his chair, and left everyone at the table dumbfounded. We had expected more to this meeting, but Mortifer simply left the room, and exited the house. Everyone looked at each other, and shrugged their shoulders. Curious, I followed Mortifer outside, and spotted him walking down the streets of Yggdrasil City. He heard me as I walked down the front steps of Zed and Paradox's home, and he turned around to face me.

"Yo… You want to talk to me?" Mortifer questioned.

"Sort of… I just thought it wasn't like you to do such a short meeting with nothing super important to tell us," I told him.

"Yeah… Well, not much is happening in the game, especially since you guys have school. But I guess you could say I'm much too worried about me coming over to your house this Saturday… Oh, and did you confirm with your parents about the formal attire?"

"They told me that you can wear whatever is comfortable with you," I informed him. "Specifically, what you would wear every day, and not on dates or important events. They really want to know every single thing about you."

"I feel like I'm indirectly disrespecting them if I come wearing a black hoodie and pants… I don't feel right dressing so informally in front of your parents," Mortifer responded.

"Well, in the end, it is up to you. I'm nervous about it too, since I have no idea why my parents would suddenly want to meet you. Usually they would search you up online or through contacts. Maybe they already have… Either way, I just hope nothing terrible happens…"

Mortifer slowly approached me, and grabbed my shoulders with his two hands. He moved his hands downwards, and wrapped them around my body, bringing me into a hug. I hugged him back, trying to take in as much of his warmth as possible to remove the cold fear I had inside of me. I tried looking up to his face, but his mask prevented me from seeing the entirety of the face I wanted to see.

"Well, I'm going to go work on that surprise project now. If you need me later, just message me through the game," Mortifer told me. He broke away from our hug, and turned his body back towards the house where everyone was standing outside of. "Rizer! Cayonz! Let's head out!"

"All right then," Rizer responded. "Let me get something first."

"Same here," Cayonz added in.

The two of them entered the house in a hurry while the rest of the group headed off to the plaza, reading their contracts.

"Speaking of your project, how long do you think it will take you to finish this project?" I asked him, crossing my arms in the process.

"I want to finish before your summer break ends, but it's highly unlikely with the prices of our missions. At the pace we're about to set on, the project will be done by December. I wish something can happen to drastically speed up the process, but I don't want to ask from you or the rest of the guild. Everything has to be done legitimately."

"I would call you stubborn, but as Zed said, even we don't have enough funds to finish your project," I whimpered.

Cayonz and Rizer emerged from the house's doorway. Rizer closed the door behind him, and locked it using the key Zed and Paradox gave to everyone. The two of them made their way here, stripped of most of their belongings. Wherever they're going, it must not have many monsters if they removed all of their equipment.

"Well, this will be goodbye for tonight Violet," Mortifer told me.

I opened my mouth to say goodbye. However, before I could even respond, Mortifer wrapped his right arm around me, placing his hand on the small of my back. He quickly pulled me into a kiss that lasted for five seconds. When he broke off, I was left in a mild daze since Mortifer's actions hinted aggression. And before I could say anything to him, he summoned his wings, and flew off into the skies. Cayonz and Rizer looked at me momentarily, shrugging their shoulders while doing so. They then followed Mortifer's lead, and took off to the skies as well, leaving me all alone in the empty street. I stood there in silence, trying to understand the meaning behind the kiss since it was unlike Mortifer to do something like that. I touched my lips with my right hand, and felt an ominous chill on my fingertips. While it may have been the cool weather of Yggdrasil, I got the feeling that it was something else.

"Are you really that scared Mortifer?"

* * *

 **(Mortifer)**

 **Half an hour later,** **Misty Valley**

"Well, from what I've seen in the "upper-upper" class here in Japan, and likely other countries such as China, parents want their children to be with people who they know will be successful, or be able to help them in some way, shape or form," Rizer told me as he worked on the floorboard of the second floor. "If you want proof of that, then look at Asuna. She was about to get into an arranged marriage with the head of RECT Progress. Back when I was still in college at the United States, my Indian friend in the senior year had an arranged marriage."

"Though that doesn't necessarily mean Violet's parents won't allow you to marry her. From what I've seen in Violet, I don't think her parents would be that strict," Cayonz added in.

"Well, she told me back in SAO that she was a rather studious student who focused on her studies as well as doing her job as the student council vice-president," I told them. "Also, just like Asuna, she joined SAO by mistake since she was curious as to what the game was like. I guess the only thing that makes her a bit unique from your typical hard-working student is her dyed hair, but even that's a stretch."

As I spoke, I reached my hand out for a stone brick, but noticed my stack had ran out. I hurried over to the enormous pile next to Cayonz, passing by the man as he was putting down his own stack of bricks.

"She said her parents want you to dress however you normally dress, right? It'd be best to listen to them, otherwise they may think you're disobedient and rebellious," Cayonz pointed out.

"I guess I'll do that then…" I sighed out.

"Wait, what _do_ you wear when you're neither at home nor school?" Rizer asked.

"Black jeans, white shirt, black jacket, and black shoes…" I answered.

"Ah… Should've known that…" Rizer mumbled. "Well, good luck on that then. So, how much more Yrd do we need to finish this floor?"

"Maybe twenty thousand or so? Compared to the first floor, there are more walls on this floor, but they are a bit smaller," Cayonz determined. "Where will Paradox's lab be located again?"

"It'll be on the left side if you view the building from the front, next to the left staircase," I told him.

"And the doors?"

"One in the eastern corner, and the other on the west."

"Uh… Where is north in this place again?" Cayonz asked, slightly embarrassed for asking so many questions.

I dropped the stone bricks I had in my hands, and stood up. I searched for the front of the building, and faced in that direction. I then raised my left arm, and pointed it forty-five degrees from where I was facing.

"It's roughly in that direction. So basically, the right corner closest to the front points towards the north," I informed the two of them. "I should've drawn a compass on the blueprints."

"It's fine. If we keep studying it, we'll figure out where everything goes, eventually. Then, we won't even need to look at the blueprints to figure everything out," Rizer spoke as he placed down another wooden beam to support the second floor. "Also, I don't have enough wood to complete the support for the floor. We'll get more when we can, but as of now, I'll help you guys with the stone placement."

"That's also going to be a bit of a problem… We're running out of mortar here," Cayonz stated.

"And we've run out of funds… At this rate, it'll take us several months," I sighed out.

"Well, it's better than taking an entire year. Plus, only the 1st through 10th Floors are open at this time. The money we get from there won't even come close to what we need to finish this," Rizer stated. "Let's be optimistic about this, and just finish what we can."

"Yeah… Let's…"

* * *

 **The next day, Wednesday 4 PM, Cait Sith Capital** **Freelia**

We suddenly received four more missions over night, and all of them were assassination missions. The numerous amount of assassination missions we were receiving made me a bit nervous since I wasn't aware of how popular this kind of mercenary work is. Fortunately, all of them were in different dates and times, which allowed me to take all of them. The first assassination mission I received was supposed to be today, but my client hasn't arrived yet. I had been waiting in this NPC café for some time now, but nobody has entered.

That's when I spotted four players walking outside of the café, wearing brown cloaks that covered their heads and bodies. The four suspicious looking players entered the café, and spotted me instantly as I was the only one here. I avoided eye contact, and crossed my arms across my chest. Secretly, I was moving my hand to grab the handle of _Lux_ , preparing myself to draw the blade out.

"Aw, you don't have to be so suspicious, Mortifer-kun," a familiar voice spoke out to me.

I tilted my head to the side out of confusion. That voice, I've definitely heard it before. I looked at the player who spoke, and noticed that she was a girl. Her apparel looked oddly familiar, as well as the feline smile she had on her face. The girl then lifted up her hood, and revealed herself to be Alicia Rue, the Cait Sith Lord.

"You… What are you doing here?" I asked. "How did you even know I was here?"

"I'm your client dummy!" Alicia exclaimed, giggling loudly. Her three guards brought down their hoods and took seats near the entrance as if blocking any means of escape. Alicia took a seat right next to me, but I moved my chair to create some distance. "So, you let Sakuya kiss and be near you, but you won't let me? That's not fair…"

"I don't want any more annoying female Lords in my life. Especially ones who are sluts or whores…"

Alicia's guards all turned their heads and looked at me with angered expressions. Alicia simply smiled at me, and motioned for her guards to calm down.

"You really are brutal Mortifer-kun… I really do like your guts. Anyways, let's get down to business. I'm sure you're aware of the growing conflicts between the races, despite the end of the first Grand Quest. With the removal of the Safe-Zone Areas in cities except for inns, Sakuya and I fear that the Salamanders will launch an all-out attack on our capitals when we least expect it. We haven't been able to help you guys search through the Labyrinths because of the ever-growing threat."

"Just tell me what you need me to do…" I grumbled back, tired of the long backstory.

"My spies learned of a meeting between high-ranking Salamander officers and a mafia-like Imp group. The Salamanders are trying to buy weapons from the Imps, and we want you to stop them. The meeting will be held in an hour in Harth, a town on the Salamander-Imp border. I already contacted the Imp Lord Ferrin to send soldiers to assist you."

"Well tell him that he won't need to. I'm going alone…" I declared. Alicia frowned at my response.

"This is not a simple assassination mission Mortifer-kun. I'm asking you to take out more than one person here," Alicia cautioned. "If they realize it's you, Eugene and Mortimer will surely realize that you were hired to do the mission. Plus, your chances of succeeding are even higher if you have people assisting you."

"I'm an Imp, and I can easily change the appearance of my hair in this game. I'll dress up as a normal Imp, change my hair, and take them on. The only problem with it is that the relationship between Salamanders and Imps will diminish even further. If you guys are going to task me to hinder the Salamanders multiple times, you yourselves will have to make sacrifices. For this mission, the Imps will be a scapegoat."

"I need to check on Ferrin to see if that is okay. Luckily, he's online right now," Alicia stated.

I sat back on my chair, and watched as Alicia configured her Communication menu. She scrolled through her friends list before stopping at the name Ferrin, and selecting it. She began typing up her message, and sent the details of the mission I was going to embark on. The two of us waited for a minute before the Imp Lord finally responded. Alicia smiled, and nodded her head.

"Ferrin agreed to your terms. However, if you happen to fail, he won't be happy," Alicia said. "He won't send in soldiers to help you directly, but he'll have a few people surrounding the town to prevent anybody from escaping. Is that fine with you?"

"Yes. They can apprehend anyone who is trying to escape, but they can't interfere me when I am in the middle of the mission. Now, as for the price, a mission like this is going to be costly. I hope you know that…"

"Oh, I do. Don't worry about that. How does a hundred and fifty-thousand Yrd sound?"

"Seventy-five thousand above the base amount… You have a deal. I would ask you for more money, but I too am not fond of these rising conflicts. Plus, you are less annoying than Sakuya, so I'm willing to make that deal."

"Thank you, Mortifer-kun," Alicia smiled brightly. "I hope you succeed! I'll be waiting in my office here in Freelia then!"

* * *

 **An hour later, the town of** **Harth**

The town of «Harth» was a rather odd town, especially in this game. Reason being, it was designed like one of those old western towns you see in American Cowboy movies. It was in a barren plain of hardened soil, at the very edge of the desert that covered most of the southern regions of ALfheim. NPC stores and Inns made up only a tenth of the buildings in the town with the rest being unusable buildings for aesthetic purposes. Being a school day, the place was like a ghost town. Even though that was the case, I remained hidden in an alleyway.

Anyways, Alicia told me that the meeting was supposed to start soon, but I haven't seen a single person in the town yet. The lack of players was making me regret all of these cosmetic changes I did to myself, especially my hair. Since actually changing my hair in terms of length, curliness and color costs money, I instead split my hair down the middle, and brushed it to two different sides. To make sure that my identity won't be compromised, I even put on some make-up I bought back in «Freelia». I looked like a completely different person, but the temporary make-up said that it only lasts for an hour, which should be enough time for me to finish this mission. I hated myself for changing my appearance, so I had wished for the mission to be over soon.

"Oi, oi, oi… Where the hell are those Imps?!" a voice grumbled out.

"Shh! Lower your voice!" another voice silenced the other. "Don't you remember that this is a secret meeting?!"

"That's also not something you should be saying dude…" the earlier voice responded.

I peered out of the alley I was in, and saw a group of Salamanders a few buildings away from me. Because of my «Straining», I could hear their whispers even from this far away, allowing me to stay in the alley for a bit longer. The group appeared to consist of three fighters, three tanks, and a single mage. A total of seven Salamanders for me to kill, and three of them are tanks… This will prove a bit troublesome.

"Where the hell is that inn we're supposed to meet at?" a Salamander complained quietly. "Also, this place is so barren."

"Makes it better for us. That means we don't have to worry as much if someone eavesdrop or interferes," another claimed.

I scoff to myself, silently laughing at the Salamander's claim. A town being completely empty only makes it more suspicious that someone, or something is watching. In this case, that someone watching is going to be their worst nightmare…

"Ah! There it is!" one of the Salamander fighters exclaimed, pointing to the building that made one side of the alleyway I was in.

The Salamanders began to make their way over to the inn, forcing me to go deeper into the shadows of the alley. When I saw a small balcony above me, I proceeded to climb up to reach the higher viewpoint. Afterwards, I scaled all the way to the top of the building, and peeked down below me. However, when I noticed that my shadow was visible on the ground, I resorted to using my hearing figure out the best time to go down and eavesdrop. The door of the inn opened, and I strained my ears to pick up every sound possible.

"Ah… You guys are here… That's good. Negotiations can start now," a new voice spoke.

The door of the inn closed with a bang, and I wasted no time. Despite my possession of wings, I decided to manually climb down the side of the building. I positioned myself next to a window, and peered inside. A group of six Imps were waiting in the center of the inn for their Salamander allies. Four of the Imps were fighters, and they all sat at a large round table with three vacant seats. Two of the Imps were tanks, and they stood in front of a long wooden table near the back of the inn. Three stacks of weapons and armor laid behind the tanks. Just their appearance alone told me they were of high quality. Three Salamanders occupied the vacant seats while the other four remained standing.

"Go on and check the goods…" one of the Salamanders commanded.

Both of the Salamander tanks who remained standing headed over to the table. They inspected the equipment with caution as the two Imps guarding the pile of items were glaring at them with threatening eyes. After a minute or so of inspecting and counting, the Salamanders turned to face their peers, and nodded their heads.

"You inspected the goods, and confirmed it. Can we do business now?" an Imp asked.

"Yes.. Let's…" the same Salamander responded. From the looks of it, it seemed to be that the Salamander captain was the mage, and the Imp captain was the fighter who directly faced the front of the inn.

"Oh, but a quick question… Why are you in need of equipment of this level? Is it for clearing the floors of New Aincrad?" the Imp captain questioned.

"Unfortunately, that information is classified, but I can say that it is not for that reason," the Salamander mage responded.

"Oh… Could it be that you Salamanders are planning on attacking the Lords of ALfheim and their capitals?"

"Like I said… It is classified… Can we move on?!" the Salamander growled.

"Fine, fine…" the Imp raised both of his hands up in a surrender-like fashion, and stopped asking questions. "Like we agreed upon, thirty sets of ancient-class quality equipment for a sum of fifty million Yrd. Now, hand us over the money."

The Salamander captain materialized a large brown sack of what I assumed to be Yrd. Two of the Imps reached for the bag, and heaved the sack closer to them. All four of them began to inspect the contents of the bag, and faces filled with greed could be seen in their faces. A Salamander inspected the bag using the system, and confirmed that the sack contained a total of fifty million.

Now that I think about it, if I can distract them even for a moment, I can steal that bag of money. I'm strong enough to carry its contents, so all I need to do is to get the upper hand. It's risky, but if I pull it off, they'll be too focused on trying to get the money back from me that they won't run away. High risk, high reward… I like it…

I quickly moved to the front of the door, and began to recite the incantation for the _Smokescreen_ spell. As I muttered out the last few words, I used my free hand to open the door enough for just a little bit of light to leak in. I reached for my sword, and muttered out the final word of the spell. Black smoke began to spew out of the palm of my right hand, and I ran inside the inn with _Sanctus_ in my left hand. The Salamanders and Imps jumped out of fright, and I saw the bag of Yrd still on the table. I put more power into my strides, and spewed smoke right into the faces of my enemies, blinding them temporarily. They all began to cough loudly, and I blindly snatched the bag of Yrd away from them. I immediately ran off with the bag of Yrd in tow, and exited the inn with haste.

"He took the money! Get him!" someone coughed out from inside the inn.

I summoned my wings, and flew up to the top of the inn. With haste, I stored the fifty million Yrd inside my storage, and unsheathed _Lux_ with my right hand. The _Smokescreen_ leaked out of the inn door, and my targets ran out the building, coughing up black smoke. It took them a few seconds to recover and find me, but at that point, I was already on the offense.

I used my wings to tackle down one of the Salamander tanks who stood far from his allies. I grabbed the guy by the collar of his heavy armor, and dragged him a building away from the inn. I stabbed the guy's leg using _Sanctus_ , and pierced it into the ground, disabling his movements. I proceeded to mercilessly hack at the guy with _Lux_ before until he perished before my eyes. I waited to see if a new Voice would appear in my head, but nothing happened.

Good… As long as I differentiate between the game and real life, I should be fine. If I think of these guys as monsters in the game for me to farm, then it should be a little bit easier for my head. Or maybe I should just try to not think about what I'm doing at all. A bit cold-blooded, but maybe it works…

I pulled _Sanctus_ out of the ground and turned to face the rest of my adversaries. All of the Imps and Salamanders now had their weapons drawn, so I couldn't do what I just did to that Salamander tank. Although, this should be easier with only four tanks remaining. However, the biggest problem was the Salamander mage who hid behind the rest of the tanks.

"Healer or damage-dealer, it doesn't matter to me," I taunted them. "Because I'll make sure to remove all of you out of my path."

"Who are you?!" the Salamander mage roared. "Are you part of the Imp's army?"

"Did that damn Ferrin send you here?!" the Imp leader shouted. "And I thought we were sneaky enough about this entire meeting..."

"Clearly not!"

I scoffed at them for arguing amongst themselves. I was about to answer, but quickly stopped myself. If I say I was hired to stop this exchange from happening, then the Salamanders would report to their leader that the Imps hired someone. Eugene should be able to figure out who I am if they reported this as such.

"Don't worry about it. If you turn yourselves in now, maybe Ferrin won't banish you from all Imp territories," I told them. "As for you Salamanders, you guys should stop with your ALfheim dominance plan. That's no longer part of the game."

"Just shut up and let us kill you!" the Salamander growled.

All of the fighters broke off into a sprint, and brandished their swords, axes and lances. The two Imp tanks joined the fighters while the two remaining Salamander tanks protected the mage. When I saw how closely packed they were, I sort of regretted not asking for back-up. I "danced" around my enemies before, but I shouldn't do that this time.

I summoned my wings, and hacked away at them as I flew by. I damaged three of them slightly while I narrowly dodged all of their attacks. After I flew by the attackers, I charged straight into the tanks guarding the mage, and chipped away some of their health. Before they could counterattack, I used their shields as a springboard, and jumped away from them. The Salamander and Imp fighters realize they can't match my speed on foot, so they all summoned their wings.

These guys don't seem to be that great at fighting. After all, most players in ALfheim are your typical otaku video gamers, or even NEETs. The extreme combat system will aid me since I am already an accomplished kendo practitioner, and quite athletic. From the looks of how they're flying and fighting right now, I can tell that they are indeed inexperienced when it comes to real sword fighting. It only hurts me to watch them even more when they are airborne.

While they were adept at flying, they had spread themselves out slightly as to not collide with each other. The disadvantage I was at before was now gone, for the distance they had put between each other gave me enough space to swiftly attack without many consequences. I rushed past the Imp fighter on my left, and sliced at his right leg while narrowly avoiding his axe swing. At the same time, I used his body as a pivot to swing myself right towards the Salamander next to him. The unexpected attack allowed me to kick him square in the face. The force of the kick sent him back into his own teammate who stumbled from the hit. This dangerous and reckless process of mine continued until I brought all of them to nearly half of their current health. In return, I lost a third of my own. I stopped attacking when I saw their mage begin casting a spell. I smiled mischievously, and I headed towards the well-guarded mage.

The tanks realized my plan, and they too summoned their wings. They flew up a few centimeters off the ground, and raised their shields in the process. The mage realized soon after, and a look of worry appeared on his face. Despite his worries, he continued his incantation as he knew he couldn't stop it. When his incantation was halfway done, I began the attack.

One of their tanks charged right at me. I ascended slightly, creating more space between me and the ground, and the Salamander followed along. However, it was all a bait as I quickly flew beneath him, and confronted the last Salamander tank. Knowing I would try to lead him away, he remained in place and raised his shield. Seeing no other choice, I increased my speed and rammed right into his shield. Since he didn't have the friction of the ground to stop him, the Salamander was hit back into his teammate. Unable to react in time, the Salamander mage was hit, and the «Spellword Fumble Effect» transpired in a violent explosion.

Thankfully, the Salamander tank whom I hid behind took the brunt of the explosion, allowing me to only drop to forty percent of my health. The explosion created a dust cloud, and I took my chances there. I found the mage in the grey smoke and hacked away at him. I imagined myself painting a picture with a paint brush as I dropped his health to zero and it proved to work as I didn't receive a new Voice. Three monsters down, ten more to go...

Suddenly, from the skies of ALfheim, numerous Imps began to surround me and my ten remaining targets. I estimated about twenty Imps total, though I counted them rather quickly. All of them were armed and dangerous. None of them seemed to be merciful people, especially with their rather intimidating glares. Judging from the reaction of the other Imp mafia and the Salamanders, these intruding Imps were not their friends. That's when an Imp in much more regal-looking armor landed behind me and took off his helm.

The Imp had milky skin with a hint of purple, almost identical to my own avatar's skin tone. He had dark purple dreads, black guyliner that only made his eyebags bigger, and a small golden circlet wrapped around his head with a red gem as the centerpiece. I glared at the man as assumptions already began to form in my head. He took note of this glare and simply nodded his head off to the side as if he was motioning for me to follow him. I sheathed both my blades, but I kept my right hand on Sanctus just in case. The Imp summoned his wings and slowly flew up to the top of the clock tower, the tallest structure in «Harth». I followed him along with two other Imps, whom I assumed to be his bodyguard. Meanwhile, down below us, the Imp army proceeded to capture the mafia Imps and their Salamander accomplices, disappointing me slightly since I didn't get their loot.

"Alicia sends her apologies," the Imp stated. "We stood our ground outside of the town, but she contacted me and told me to help you, despite what you told us earlier."

"Before we get there, you're Ferrin, right? The Imp Lord?" I asked him. He nodded his head. "Okay then... So, why exactly did she send you guys in? I thought I explicitly told her not to do so."

"It seems Lord Alicia cares about you greatly. She doesn't want you to die on the mission, nor for the mission to fail. It will greatly hurt us if you happen to die on such an important mission."

"I understand your concern, but I can take care of myself just fine. Since you have captured my prey, I can't get any loot from their bodies..."

"Would you like compensation for our interference?" Ferrin asked me, making me more relaxed due to his generosity and kindness.

"No... It's fine. I'd rather not drain the pockets of too many allies since I'll be asking Alicia for compensation later. Anyways, there are thirty sets of ancient-class equipment inside of that saloon over there. That should give you guys something to work with..."

"Thank you, Mortifer-san..." Ferrin bowed to me.

"Just call me Mortifer," I told the Imp Lord.

I materialized my magical wings and began to make my way back to «Freelia».

* * *

 **Half an hour later,** **«Lord's Mansion in Freelia»**

"You already stole five million from the mafia Imps, yet you're still asking me for more money? How cruel..." Alicia whimpered as she made a face that imitated a helpless cat.

"I told you that I didn't need help. I don't care if it was for my own benefit... I need as much money as I can get right now," I argued back.

"If you tell me why you need so much money, then maybe I'll give you what you want..." Alicia purred.

I clenched both fists beneath my cloak and got up from my chair. I turned my back to Alicia and began to head for her office's exit.

"Good luck finding another mercenary then," I grumbled to Alicia as I stormed out of her office. As soon as I had one foot outside of the room, she immediately responded back.

"Okay! Okay! Just, please give me a minute or two..." Alicia cried out for me.

I stopped myself and slowly walked back to Alicia, who looked defeated. I had both hands in the pockets of my pants and I stared down at the Cait Sith Lord, waiting for her response.

"You know, your personality isn't something that appeals to other people that well. It's kind of hard to believe you are brothers with Kirito-kun. Are you not afraid that one day we won't hire you for any more high-paying missions because of your personality?"

"No... I'm not afraid," I told her.

"How come? I thought you want as much money as possible?"

"I do want as much money as possible, but I'm not afraid because there is one thing I know for sure..."

"This thing is?" Alicia wondered.

"No matter how much you try to avoid me and my guild, you guys will come crawling back to me, seeking my aid in helping to stop Eugene and the Salamanders' advancement..."

My statement was extremely prideful, but it was the solid truth. Alicia opened her mouth to argue but she too realized that she couldn't say anything to counter my statement.

"Look, I don't like Eugene at all, and I don't want to see that guy being on top, but these conflicts don't concern me, my guild nor my friends. Unless Eugene does something that directly affects us, I won't be cheap for hire. But as long as you are able to pay for the mission, I am willing to take on any and every mission you have for me."

"Okay..." Alicia spoke quietly, looking down at her desk. "How much do you want then?"

"Ten-thousand should be enough..." I told her. Alicia opened her menu and materialized a mithril Yrd coin. "This is a hundred-thousand... Even if I want money badly, I'm not going to accept this from you."

"Then what if I say it is a gift? For being on our side?" Alicia asked, looking up at me. Her eyes were apologetic and so I simply took the mithril coin and proceeded to exit the room. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mortifer-kun..."

"And the same to you, Alicia…"

* * *

 **Two days later, Friday Night,** **«Misty Valley»**

Yesterday and today, my guild members went on their first missions. Though Trish and Rizer had already went on a mission with me before, this was the first time they did it without me. Fortunately, everyone completed their missions with relative ease, and there were no complications between us and the clients during negotiations. We earned approximately four-hundred thousand Yrd combined in those missions.

We can finish the second floor and parts of the third floor with the money we currently have, but even so, furnishing the place costs a lot more than building the actual walls. My punishment for wanting to make everything look pretty in this place. I believe the carpet alone is going to be a few million Yrd since it is made of the fur from «Evil-God» type monsters residing in the high-level dungeon of «Jötunheimr». The crappy part is that we have to get the materials ourselves and then pay a special merchant to make something out of it since that is the only way to obtain any item made from that fur. The only way around it is to find someone who has «Completed» their «Crafting». However, the only person I know who is near such a feat is Violet, who only has it up to somewhere around five-hundred.

"Why the hell is furniture more expensive in this world than actual building materials?" I grumbled to myself, though both Rizer and Cayonz overheard me.

"It's just how these games work. Heck, even the real world is like this. Ever heard of mercantilism?" Rizer asked me.

"Yeah… I know what you mean by that. But still though… Furnishing the first floor will be more expensive than actually building it. I'm pretty sure that is not how the real world works…"

"If you wanna complain, go speak with the guy who wanted dragon-leather couches and literal golden seats," Cayonz bellowed out. "We have yet to make the two residence towers on the side, which will cost us nearly a billion Yrd. And that tree you want to plant at that garden up there on that ledge? Does it not cost like a few million Yrd due to its extreme rarity? And that arena—"

"Okay, okay… Sorry…" I stopped him. "I won't complain anymore. I have more important things to worry about anyway…

"Ah right… You're meeting with Violet's parents tomorrow," Rizer noted.

"Did you decide what you're going to do?" Cayonz asked.

"Dress normally, act formally… Well, that's what I have in mind..." I told them. "Do you guys have any more tips on how to deal with her parents?"

Rizer and Cayonz looked at each other, then looked back at me. They looked down towards the ground and shook their heads slowly. I let out a sigh of stress and opened my menu. I looked at the time and noticed that it was eleven o'clock in the night. I thought about whether I should stay up like usual or go to sleep, and decided on the latter.

"I'm heading out so I can prepare myself well tomorrow. You guys can keep on building if you want," I told them.

"We'll finish what we can before midnight," Cayonz affirmed as he hoisted a wooden beam over his shoulders. Rizer looked at me and gave me a quick salute, saying:

"Good luck tomorrow Mortifer… Godspeed."

* * *

 **(Katsumoto)**

 **The next day 12PM, Tokyo-Setagaya Ward, Yuzuki Household**

Unlike many homes here in Japan, the Yuzuki household was separated from society by four tall, white, concrete walls. A black gate with a keypad prevented all unwanted visitors from entering the property. An elderly man in a black suit stood his ground behind the gate as if he were guarding it. He stared at me with cold eyes as if he knew why I was here. Well, I shouldn't be too surprised if Ai's parents sent the butler out to greet me.

I exited my car which was parked next to the black gate. I walked over to the front of the gate and stood in front of the elderly man. Now that I got a closer look at him, he only seems to be in his late fifties or early sixties. He was also rather fit for a man of his age.

"Is this the Yuzuki household?" I asked him.

"Yes, it is. Are you perhaps Kirigaya Katsumoto-kun?" he questioned. I nodded my head in response. "We've been expecting you. My name is Fumio Nagato. I am the proud butler of the Yuzuki family. Please, enter."

The man took out a remote control from his pocket and pressed the big blue button on the middle. The black gates began to open inwards, forcing the neatly dressed man to take a few steps back to avoid the gate. I stepped over the threshold and began to follow the butler who started walking to the house.

The Yuzuki household had garden smaller than ours, though their house was at least twice the size of our own. The junior mansion had two floors with more than enough rooms for a family of four people. The front portico held up a balcony and an extended portion of the roof. Two smaller porticoes were on either side of the mansion, surrounded by flowers. I barely caught a glimpse of a curtain moving on the second floor at the right side. I saw Ai's head poking out from behind the curtains, watching me as I approached the entrance of her home. I gave her a nervous thumbs up and she retreated back into her room. Nagato continued towards the door and we entered the shade of the portico. The butler pushed open the shiny wooden doors of the mansion and allowed me to see the interior of Ai's home.

I walked into a marble foyer, with two rounded staircases on either side. The hallway of the second floor could be seen from the front, along with a large doorway at the center of the hall. From its fancy appearance, I assumed that the door led to the master bedroom. I looked to the right side and once again saw Ai peeking around the corner. Nagato saw her as well and turned his body towards me.

"Ai-sama's parents will return from work soon. They will meet with you when I have finished preparing lunch. You are allowed to wait in Ai-sama's room if you'd like," he said, motioning for me to go upstairs. "Oh, but please remove your shoes and set them right here."

"Okay. Thank you, Fumio-san," I bowed to him.

I removed my shoes and headed up the staircase to my right. The marble floor caused me to take my steps much more slowly since my socks slipped easily on the smooth surface. I held on to the handrail which appeared to be made of ebony. A crystal chandelier dangled from the ceiling, right above a circular stone table with a rather large bonsai tree. When I turned to see what was behind me, I was astonished when I saw a replica of the Last Supper painted on the wall above the doorway. It covered most of the area above the entrance, making it look as big as the real one. The vibrant colors made it seem rather new.

"Your family isn't Christian, right Ai?" I asked her.

"Oh that?" Ai questioned. "It was my father's idea. He's not too interested in art, but he adores history, especially the Renaissance period. We have a replica of the Mona Lisa and the Rape of Proserpina in the library. The statues of Night and Dawn as well as the Creation of Adam are in the dining room."

"Just how big is this plot your home is in?" I asked, astonished at the sheer size of her house.

"Hmm… I think it's at least four-thousand square meters," Ai determined, causing my jaw to drop open. I've never heard of any sort of house or plot of land that big here in the Tokyo ward, especially in Setagaya. "My grandfather built this place by taking down three neighboring houses. They all got compensated with large sums of money as well as a job in the Ymir corporation when that happened."

"Oh… That's neat then…" I said, unable to find other things to say.

"Come on. I'll show you my room," Ai motioned for me.

"If your bed frame is made out of gold, I will seriously doubt my chances with your parents," I joked, though I still had doubts regardless. Ai knew this as well, which is why she didn't respond to my joke and made a worried face instead.

I reached the top of the staircase and stepped onto the carpeted surface of the second floor. Four doors were located in each hallway, totaling up to nine total doors if you include the big one at the center. Ai and I walked towards the end of the right hallway and entered Ai's room on our right.

Unlike the bright white color of the rest of the house, Ai's room had lavender-colored walls and a matching carpet floor. Her room wasn't as big as I expected it to be, but this mansion does have nine rooms on the second floor. Her bade frame wasn't made out of gold but wood instead. The black frame was filled with drawers and cabinets both underneath, on the head and at the foot-end of the bed, providing Ai with plenty of storage space. A black study desk was on the wall opposite to her bed and her computer was at the right corner next to her window. A nightstand on the right side of her king-sized bed had her purple AmuSphere as well as what appeared to be an internet router. I was going to say that I was surprised but even I have my own router I use for the ethernet.

"Is this the only colored room in the house?" I asked her.

"Nope," she responded. "Each of the rooms on the second floor have a certain color scheme. The master bedroom is brown, my room is purple, my brother's room is green, the bathrooms are blue and red, my brother's workshop is grey, Nagato-san's room is orange and the guest room is yellow."

"You have a maid as well?" I asked her.

"Yup, her name is Kyoko-san. Fumio Kyoko," she told me, making my eyebrows raise out of surprise.

"Wait, are they related?"

"They're married. They're one of the families that lost their homes due to the construction of this one. However, they became very good friends with my own family and reside here. Nagato-san is our company's Chief Human Resources Officer while also being our butler. Kyoko-san is just our maid. They have two children who have families that also work for the company and partnered companies."

"You're family is rather generous… I just hope it applies to me too…" I worried.

"Yeah… I hope so too…" Ai whimpered. "My parents will be here in less than an hour, so I'll get changed now."

* * *

 **Half an hour later**

Ai put on a white collar shirt and black jean shorts. She kept wearing her white fur slippers and ankle-high white socks, and simply let her hair fall down like normal. The purple streaks glistened in the bright light of her room. The two of us remained sitting on the bed. We held each other's hands and leaned against one another, waiting for her parents to return home.

From outside, I heard the black gate outside as it began to open up. The two of us walked to her window and saw a black Rolls-Royce as it went down the driveway. The luxury vehicle stopped midway and Nagato came to open the passenger side door. A woman with brown hair stepped out of the passenger side, wearing a white office dress and black stockings. From the driver's side, came out a black-haired man wearing a black shirt and charcoal pants. As if he knew we were watching, the man looked up to Ai's window and waved. Ai simply closed the curtains and buried her face in my chest.

"Those were your parents, right?" I asked her.

"Yeah…" she whispered out. "You want to go and meet them now?"

"No point waiting if it's going to happen in a matter of minutes. Let's go."

Ai and I exited the bedroom and out into the white hallways of the house. We slowly walked towards the center of the second floor while the sound of the front door opening reached my ears. Ai was the first to step out into the view of her parents while I remained hidden behind the hallway wall. Parts of the Last Supper were in my view as well as one of the windows next to it, but not her parents.

"Ah... Ai-chan..." a manly voice greeted. "Is your boyfriend here yet?"

I saw Ai's throat move as she swallowed down her worries. She looked at me and motioned for me to come into view. I took a deep breath and placed my hands in my pockets. I stepped out of the shadows and came into view. Her mother and father had smiles on their faces which quickly disappeared when they looked at me. They were replaced by blank expressions that showed no emotion. I slowly began to walk down the staircase Ai. I had an urge to hold her hand but I refrained from doing so. I carefully walked down the slippery marble staircase and reached the ground floor where her parents and Nagato waited.

"I'm assuming you are Mortifer-kun?" her mother asked.

"Yes, I am," I answered as I bowed my head. "My real name is Kirigaya Katsumoto."

"We're pleased to finally meet you. My name is Alluka. Yuzuki Alluka."

"And my name is Shitori." her father greeted.

"Please... The pleasure is mine," I said, though I knew it was a lie.

"I'd like to talk with you right away, but my hunger has yet to be sated. Nagato, is lunch ready?!" Shitori asked.

"Yes, it is. I have already prepared the table as well." Nagato affirmed.

Nagato motioned for us to enter the dining room and Shitori did the same to me. I obliged and entered the room alongside Ai. I passed by the Statues of Night and Dawn, which stood on either side of the doorway. The Creation of Adam was painted on the ceiling of the dining hall, contrasting greatly with the maroon walls of the room. I walked to the grand dining table at the center of the room while I admired the intricate designs on the fabric-covered walls. My sixth sense alert system went off like crazy as I sensed her parents' eyes behind my back. They were definitely looking at me and my appearance.

Sets of plates and food were placed both in the middle and at the end of the table. Knowing where I was going to be sitting at, I sat down on a chair in the middle while Ai sat on the opposite side. Shitori sat down at the head of the table with Alluka next to him on Ai's side. The three of them proceeded to place their tablecloths on their laps, and I followed their actions. They clapped their hands together and said in unison:

"Thanks for the meal."

I quickly followed up by clapping my hands and saying:

"Thanks for the meal."

We all began to reach for our food which consisted of crab, lobster, sea urchin, caviar and more seafood items. I reached for my utensils, expecting to find chopsticks. Instead, I found a fork and a knife by my plate. I grabbed the two utensils and took a lobster tail for myself along with a sea urchin. Before I began to eat my food, the dining room's main entrance burst open, revealing a young boy with brown hair. He was wearing his pajamas and looked as if he had just woken up.

"Good morning..." he yawned out.

"It is afternoon already Hitori-kun. Did you stay up playing video games again?" Ai's mother questioned.

"No... I was doing my intern work..." Hitori paused momentarily as he set his eyes on me. "Eh? Who's this?"

"That is Kirigaya Katsumoto-kun... Ai-chan's boyfriend."

"Ah!" Hitori exclaimed, running over to my side and forcefully taking my hand which still had my fork in it. "So you're Mortifer-san! I'm Yuzuki Hitori, Onee-san's younger brother. Vitushi-kun has told me a lot about you! Man, you look so different from what I expected you to look like. So, why are you here?"

"Hitori-kun... You may dine with us but you have to be quiet. Otherwise, take some food and go back to your room," Shitori commanded. Hitori effectively quieted down and sat at the other end of the table, opposite to his father. "Now, Kirigaya-kun... Please tell us a bit about yourself."

"Well... W-What do you want to know?" I asked, not sure where to start.

"How about your past?"

"Well... I lost my parents in a car accident when I was four, the very day after my brother was born."

"Oh my… A tragic story… You have my condolences…"

"T-Thank you… That happened almost seventeen years ago..."

"So, you're twenty-one now? A year older than Ai-chan... I see..." Alluka mused.

"I practiced Kyokushin karate and became a practitioner of kendo. I quit after several years when I myself got into a car accident," I told them. Ai's eyes went wide open since I never told her I took Kyokushin lessons. "I was rank one in my high school and was amongst the top scoring students in my mock school. I got accepted into the University of Tokyo, though I never actually went there..."

"Oh? Is that so?" Shitori wondered. "How come?"

"I... Didn't know what to do with my life..." I told him.

Saying that I chose not to go to college to such a high-class Japanese family may be the stupidest thing anyone can do, especially if they want to be with a person from that family. However, it was not in my nature to lie about these kinds of things.

"That's... A bit upsetting... What do you do now?" Alluka asked. Ai looked at me with a worried expression, knowing that these questions were only making my image much worse, especially since I wasn't lying.

"I remain at home, taking care of my siblings and playing video games with my friends, including Ai..."

Ai's parents looked at each other as if trying to reach a silent conclusion about me. Hitori and Ai continued to eat their food slowly while I remained paralyzed from the questions I was being asked. This was not going well for me at all, but I needed to stay strong. I took my silver and proceeded to eat the feast that was laid before us by Nagato. After a minute of watching Ai's parents whisper to each other, Hitori's expression changed from one of boredom to one of absolute seriousness.

"I don't get why we have to make this all subtle looking, Otou-san, Okaa-san..." Hitori murmured.

"Hitori-kun?" Ai asked, bewildered. I looked at Ai's brother with puzzled eyes, confused by his sudden seriousness. A moment later, Alluka sighed out.

"I guess you're right... We won't figure anything out if we try to be subtle about this..."

"Kirigaya-kun... No, Mortifer-kun..." Shitori's voice rumbled. I saw an evil bloodlust radiating from the man's eyes, causing me to shift uncomfortably in my seat. "Does the number eighty-nine hold any significance to you?"

"E-Eighty... Nine?" I repeated, unsure of how that number relates to me.

"Otou-san... What's going on here?" Ai said, standing up from her chair.

"Ai-chan, please sit down and remain quiet... This is a very important discussion," Alluka declared. "Tell us Mortifer-kun... What do you think that number means?"

Ai's parents and even her brother were giving me menacing stares as if I had pissed them off somehow. What made them so mad? Was it something I did in the past? If so, what? I tried to remember anything dealing with the number eighty-nine, but I couldn't find anything in my head.

"I-I'm sorry... I don't know what that number means... Well, maybe I do, but I can't remember it right now."

Alluka's expression quickly changed from threatening to one of shock. She moved her hand to cover her mouth and began shaking in her seat. Hitori moved his arm in front of Ai as if he were trying to protect her from me. Her younger brother held an expression of absolute hatred in his face. Shitori remained sitting but he gave me an ominous glare that sent chills down my spine. Even Nagato reacted to my answer as he was now behind my seat, glaring down the back of my head.

"Everyone, what's going on here?!" Ai shouted, desperate for an answer. I didn't know how to react since I never expected this lunch meeting to go so terrible. What the hell does eighty-nine mean?!

"Ai-chan... I can't believe you have stuck with this boy during your time in Sword Art Online," Alluka cried out in horror as she quivered in her seat. "How could you ever love him?!"

"H-He saved my life! He's done it five times now! And he's the only person I've met outside of my family who cares for me so much!" Ai shouted out, still confused as to why her family was suddenly so hostile towards me. "What's wrong?! What does the number eighty-nine mean?!"

"The number of people who died!" Shitori shouted, slamming his fist on the table and sending plates flying.

I froze in place, as well as Ai. I didn't notice it due to the shouting, but the Voices were screaming inside my head already. I grasped my head, unable to fathom the fact that I forgot my own sins. The very sins which had been haunting me ever since that damn night. I now realized why they all seemed so shocked when I couldn't recall what the number eighty-nine meant.

"When a murderer doesn't remember the lives he has taken, that's when that person has lost their humanity," Shitori stated. "Ever since we found out about Ai's girlfriend from Vitushi-kun, we have been doing research on you. We were considering on letting you be with Ai-chan but when we found your SAO logs, we were absolutely shocked. We contacted Kayaba Akihiko's assistant, Koujiro Rinko, Sugou Nobuyuki of RECT Progress and Kikuoka Seijirou of the «Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications» to confirm the data of your SAO logs."

"I won't let a murderer like you go near Onee-chan!" Hitori declared, now spreading both of his arms out to protect Ai. Nagato grabbed my shoulder and proceeded to crush it with his hand, giving me great pain.

"We've already made preparations for you Ai so don't worry about anything," Shitori said, standing up from his seat.

"W-Worry about what?! What are you planning on doing?!" Ai screamed.

"From this point onward, Nagato-san will be your temporary guard, both in the real world and the virtual one. Kirigaya Katsumoto-kun... I hereby forbid you from going near my daughter, ever again!"


	6. Chapter 5 Fragments of a Shattered Heart

**(Mortifer)**

 **Later that day 5PM, In the streets of** **«Yggdrasil City»**

Confusion. Distress. Disbelief. Those were the three most dominant emotions I felt when I left the Yuzuki family home in Setagaya. I tried to talk with Ai in order to save myself from those emotions but the rules they had given me were no joke. The moment I tried to reach for Ai as I was leaving, Nagato grabbed the back of my collar and threw me across their stone-paved driveway. His strength shocked me since he appeared to be some old man but he easily threw me a few meters away from Ai. I had no serious injuries, just a mild numbness, but my morale was damaged severely when I realized how strict these rules might be. Even now, as I approached Zed and Paradox's home, I sensed danger.

The guild was gathered outside of the player home, unintentionally blocking most of the small street. The guild was gathered around Violet, who was curled up on the front steps of the player home. She didn't appear to be crying but she was clearly saddened. The guild looked confused, making me assume Violet hasn't told them yet. They were speaking with her and I strained my ears to listen but ambient sounds dulled their voices.

"And what exactly are you doing, Kirigaya-kun?" A deep voice bellowed from behind me, causing my eyes to open wide.

Before I could turn around and react, I was sent flying by a powerful shockwave. I flew towards my guild and skidded across the stone ground for several meters, causing soreness to my avatar. My guild backed away out of fright while Violet quickly stood up out of surprise.

"Katsumo—" she began to yell out my real name before catching herself. "Mortifer!"

"Hiding in the shadows won't do you too well, Kirigaya-kun. Especially against a Game Master…" the same voice spoke from behind me.

I, along with my guild and Violet, turned to face the person behind us. The figure was clad in red robes, just like the clothes Kayaba Akihiko had worn when he used his Game Master avatar in SAO's launch day. The man had his hood over his head but he pulled his hood down, revealing himself to be the ALfheim Online version of Nagato. The man's facial features were relatively the same except for his ears which were now pointy.

"Nagato-san?!" ViVi exclaimed. "Why are you here?"

"Ah… Vitushi-kun… It has been several years since I have last met you. You've grown quite a lot, though this is your in-game avatar…"

"ViVi, who is this guy?" Zed asked.

"A close family friend of the Yuzuki family. He's the CHRO of the Ymir corporation. He, along with his wife, works as the Yuzuki family's servants whenever they are not tending to the Ymir corporation." ViVi explained to us, still confused. "But, why are you here?"

"Ai-chan's parents has given me the job to enforce a set of rules upon both Kirigaya-kun and Ai-chan. Until that murderer fully gives up on her, I will accompany Ai-chan everywhere in this world and in the real one while enforcing these rules her parents have created."

Upon hearing the word murderer, the entire guild tensed up. They realized the seriousness of the situation and that it was no longer a time to be fooling around. Rizer and Cayonz looked at me with apologetic expressions, now knowing that the meeting did not go well. I stood up off the ground and faced Nagato, wanting the older man to show me mercy. Nagato waved his hand, summoning a rolled-up scroll in the process. He unraveled the parchment and began to read its contents.

"First, Kirigaya-kun must be greater than two meters away from Ai-chan. The two are not allowed to touch, hug or kiss the other, and talking is only allowed when necessary and granted permission by myself or other trusted members of the family. Second, Ai-chan will delete Kirigaya-kun from her Friends list and is not allowed to go to boss raids in which Kirigaya-kun will be participating in. Third, Ai-chan may not participate in the assassination missions of the _Reapers of Sorrow_ or any mission that involves the death of players. Fourth, Ai-chan will have a curfew set at ten o'clock, both in the real and virtual world. Fifth, breaking the rules will result in a punishment directed towards Kirigaya-kun, even if it was Ai-chan who broke them. Sixth, these rules are absolute and cannot be argued upon. That is all the rules."

"Wait a minute! I can understand the first rule, but the rest of the rules are complete bullshit!" Violet cursed out. This was the first time I've heard Violet curse. Or, at least the first time that I remember. "These rules are completely unfair to me, to Mortifer and even to my friends!"

At that moment, another powerful shockwave hit me, sending me flying straight into the wall. The impact created a dust cloud and made a crater on the masonry, though it repaired itself right afterwards. Violet was shocked at what happened, as well as my guild. She looked at Nagato, who showed no emotions on his face.

"You broke the sixth rule Ai-chan. Therefore, according to the fifth rule, Kirigaya-kun must pay for it. I will show neither of you any mercy, especially you, Kirigaya-kun…"

I wanted to say, "That's fine", but I knew that it was a lie. I was not fine with these rules. As Violet stated, it was completely unfair. While I was fine dealing with these in-game punishments, the fact that even Violet was restricted so much ticked me off. I balled both of my fists and bit my lower lip out of anger. Nagato saw this and ignored my actions as if he didn't care. I stood back up and patted the dust off me. Violet began to approach me but I quickly backed away from her, not wanting to get sent flying once again. I held my hand out to stop her and shook my head, telling her no. Unfortunately, that also counted as communication, as I was sent flying upwards this time. I didn't hit anything, but I had gone up so fast that it made me disoriented. Eventually however, my body collided with the invisible barrier above the city, stopping my ascent. I fell back down but I managed to summon my wings in time to not suffer another period of numbness from the fall.

"Nagato-san… Please… Stop…" Violet began to cry. "I hoped that you would have at least gone easy on us, considering how nice you are to me all the time."

"You have me mistaken, Ai-sama," Nagato began. "I am simply following the orders of your parents. I am only nice to you because your parents ask for it. In reality, I hold no feelings."

Violet covered her mouth and began to sob up tears. She took several steps back and bumped into the guild. Paradox, Aqua and Trish worked on comforting her while everyone else remained still, unable to do anything about the current situation.

Now that I'm looking at it, just joining the guild in floor clearing expeditions is bad enough. If Violet gets into a bad situation, I'll instinctively jump in and save her. I don't doubt the fact that if I do so, Nagato will likely launch me straight into danger right afterwards. This whole situation is not only affecting our guild, but our ability to cooperate with the Front Lines and our ability to carry out missions. This really is a terrible situation. Right now, the guild needs to head to Aincrad to resume our floor clearing but I won't be able to join them anymore. I guess I'll just work on finishing the project for now while Violet has her turn with the guild…

"Since it's come to this, I'm going to head over to the project site and resume working. I'll come back to help you guys in the Front Lines during a better time. Rizer, Cayonz… You can join me if you want, but I'd prefer you stay with Violet."

I summoned my wings and ascended a meter off the ground. My guild looked at me with worried eyes while Violet continued to cry in her arms. Nagato glared at me with threatening eyes, causing me to stick with my decision even more. Above all else, I didn't want to make him and Violet's family any angrier.

"See you guys…"

* * *

 **(Violet)**

 **Two hours later, 3** **rd** **Floor Aincrad**

While Mortifer was gone to work on his project alone, the rest of the guild stuck with me. We farmed up mobs around the Labyrinth, trying our best to avoid the Field Boss, who guarded the entrance. Tomorrow was the planned date for the Field Boss raid, but it wasn't going to go as planned with these rules I had to abide to. Not only that, these past two hours gave me a glimpse of how strict my parents were going to be.

During the whole time we worked on clearing mobs, Nagato had been hovering far above us, watching us intently. Because Mortifer wasn't nearby, he distanced himself much further from me. I suspected he did this so he didn't have to deal with me complaining or trying to beat him up. I honestly wanted to so badly because this entire situation was totally unfair. But… I understood why my parents were doing this. After all, Mortifer's history wasn't the prettiest or most promising to any parent. I had already suspected for the meeting to not go so well, but I didn't expect it to be this terrible.

"You okay, Violet-chan?" ViVi asked me. Before I reacted to his stupid question, Zed did the honors and punched my cousin on the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"How exactly is this dumbass your cousin Violet?" Zed grumbled. I wanted to tell him that I didn't know, but refrained from doing so. I was already in a bad mood, and I didn't want to make it even worse.

"L-Look, Violet-chan… I-I'm sorry," ViVi stammered out. "It was my fault that your parents ever found out about Mortifer… I just thought that they already knew about him, so I—"

"ViVi… That's enough… I don't want to dwell on this any longer…" I quietly cut him off.

I looked at the time display on my avatar menu and saw that it was about to be eight o'clock soon. I still had two hours left according to the rules. Even so, I didn't feel like staying inside of ALfheim Online any longer. We hadn't done anything relatively fun this whole entire day which made my whole mood much worse. What was the point of remaining inside the game when we couldn't do anything at all?

"I'm going to bed early tonight…" I told my guild. Their eyes wandered off different directions and looks of worry formed in their faces. I felt like telling them not to worry, but that would have been a clear white lie. "Good night you guys…"

* * *

 **(Kirito)**

 **June 2025, The next day,3** **rd** **Floor of Aincrad, the fields outside of the Labyrinth**

Seeing the «Forest of Wavering Mist» again on this floor gave me the chills, as it reminded me of the «Laughing Coffin» raid we did back then in SAO. However, it made me happy to find out that the «Elf War Campaign» still exists within the game. Asuna and I felt a wave of nostalgia when we met the Kizmel once again, though we were a bit disappointed that she didn't recognize us. The ALO servers ran an older version of SAO, so it was to be expected. We were at least lucky to have been able to save Yui when she knew us.

We were waiting on an open clearing inside of the forest, a minute of flight away from the Field Boss. The Imps and Pookas joined the Front Lines, taking the Salamanders' place since Eugene was absent. Nobody complained however, as the Field Boss was going to be fought inside of a small pass inside a mountain. Explosion magic wasn't really needed in such close quarters, and only proved to be a threat to our own allies. The Imp Lord Ferrin was talking rather casually to Sakuya and Alicia. The Pooka Lord Beatrice wasn't talking much but provided the entire group with music along with her companions. We were waiting on Mortifer's group who is currently late, though only by a few minutes. Due to my curiosity, I was about to message my brother when the ground at the center of the clearing suddenly exploded, creating a dust storm.

A few of the players drew out their weapons and quickly went to their Lord's aid while the rest remained still. The dust quickly cleared up, and I saw my brother lying in the center of the newly formed crater. He wasn't wearing his mask, which was unusual since he always wore it despite the conditions. He had a rather angry, yet nonchalant expression on his face. He groaned loudly as he got up from the crater and patted the dust off his clothing. His guild appeared above the forest and landed at the clearing. A figure dressed in red was with them, standing right next to Violet. The players around us began to whisper to each other, but my ears couldn't pick up what they were saying.

"Kazuto-nii…" Leafa quietly called out to me, tugging my arm sleeve while doing so. "Why is there a GM with Katsu-nii and his guild?"

"GM?!" I repeated, bewildered. Now that I looked at it, the person wore clothing that resembled Kayaba's attire when he appeared during SAO launch day. "I have no clue…"

Mortifer's guild walked up to us while Mortifer remained standing on the crater, looking off into the distance. The GM followed his guild as well, sticking very close to Violet. An invisible wall seemingly separated her from the guild, as nobody was within a two meter range from Violet. She expressed an ominous sadness in her face while also looking at the GM with contempt. The GM was an older gentleman with a mix of white and black hair with white being the most dominant of the two. He looked around, inspecting us players, unamused by what he was seeing. He then began to levitate off the ground and quickly skyrocketed upwards, easily going a hundred or so meters above us.

"Anybody care to explain why a GM is currently with us?" Sakuya questioned the newcomers.

"A buncha' stuff happened…" Zed began. "It'd be better off if you just leave Violet and Mortifer alone for the time being. That GM is here because of them."

"What happened? Did they try to hack or cheat in-game?" Alicia giggled.

"Like I said… A buncha' stuff happened…"

Mortifer's guild proceeded to walk towards our group. They were all trying to avoid eye contact from everyone but us. It seems something bad has happened between Mortifer and Violet. Now that I think about it, he did go to her house yesterday, and Violet's family leads the company. If there's a GM monitoring the two of them, then the situation is much worse than it appears to be. I was so deep into my thoughts that I didn't realize Zed, who was standing right next to me, trying to talk to me.

"Kirito?!" he shouted into my ear.

"Yeah! What?" I quickly responded.

"Did your brother tell you yet?"

"Tell me about what? The situation between him and Violet? If so, then no."

Zed sighed, and turned to face Violet, who was standing in her lonesome. Mortifer was even further away from the group, staring out towards the nearby forest. Meanwhile. the «Reapers of Sorrow» began to form groups of four, making me assume Mortifer's original group temporarily disbanded due to the current matters.

"Violet's parents know about what Mortifer did in SAO…" Rizer quietly told us.

My eyes opened wide with shock and nervousness, as did everyone else in my group. Silica had her mouth covered with her hand, Liz scratched her head, and Klein began to whistle while he kicked nearby pebbles. Everyone in our group understands what my brother has gone through, and to an extent, has forgiven him. But they too once experienced the fear he brought to players in SAO, and held some hatred and disgust towards him. They can easily relate to someone who doesn't know the full truth of his actions in that death game.

"So, what will you guys do?" I asked them.

"Well, first of all, Violet won't be participating in the boss raid. Well, she could if Mortifer wasn't participating," Zed explained. "They can't participate in the same boss raid together for whatever reason."

"Losing one damage dealer shouldn't be too bad…" Asuna spoke, trying to lighten the mood though she was clearly sad that Violet won't be participating. "Mortifer alone is good enough for five to ten people, right?"

"Not to mention, the guy fights better when he's not in a good mood," Rizer pointed out. "I guess it's his way of dealing with stress. He just lets it all out, though he's gone overboard plenty of times. How many times do you think that guy has gone berserk?"

"Including his «Darkness Blade»?" Paradox asked. "If so, I believe he's gone berserk about five times. Three times with his «Darkness Blade», and twice without it."

"He's gone out of control many other times as well, even in the real world.\," I informed them, briefly remembering a certain fight my brother had in school a long time ago. "He went berserk twice during our journey to save Asuna. One of those times was much scarier than even his execution back in SAO."

"Seriously? Jeez… I feel sorry for the poor guy who had to deal with that," Zed sympathized. Neither Asuna, Leafa nor I responded to his comment, as we didn't feel that bad for Sugou. All I knew back then was that my brother had gone completely overboard, and Sugou was almost dead by the time my brother finished him.

"Can we move on from this pointless conversation?" A voice grumbled out.

Mortifer appeared right next to me, and he stormed past both my group and his guild. He was clearly not in a good mood, and he had his mask on. I faintly saw the hatred burning in his eyes, and he was directing it all towards the Labyrinth ahead of him instead of the GM that was causing all of his current problems. Without warning, my brother summoned his wings and took off towards the Labyrinth, charging straight towards the Field Boss's lair.

"Mortifer-san, wait!" Asuna shouted in vain.

"What is Mortifer-kun doing now?!" Sakuya exclaimed, bewildered at the man's actions. "We haven't even started the meeting and he's charging right in!"

"Well, if we're lucky, that guy will take it down himself. Though with the power increase of «New ALfheim Online» bosses and the lack of levels, I doubt he can do it solo," Rizer affirmed.

"There's no way to stop him if he starts hitting that boss," Zed determined.

"We have no choice but to help him then," Konno laughed out.

"Yup. He's already started too," Aqua informed us, focusing her Cait Sith vision towards the Labyrinth.

"Let's head out then. No point in wasting time," I declared.

"Violet-chan! We're heading out now!" Asuna shouted out to her friend. Unfortunately, Violet ignored her and simply stood there, staring out into the open. "I'm really not liking this situation…"

"Hopefully it will get resolved soon… Hopefully…"

* * *

 **Several hours later, inside the Floor Boss Room**

"Kirito, your brother is absolutely insane!" Zed shouted towards me as he and his party dodged the venomous spit of the Floor Boss.

"We don't have the people nor the resources to fight the boss at this moment!" Sakuya declared, a hint of anger in her voice.

"Why did we follow this man into the boss room again?" Ferrin asked the Sylph Lord. His voice was filled with worry, but I sensed no hatred within it.

"Hey, my group is running out of mana to support you guys…" the Pooka Lord Beatrice quietly announced.

"Then we'll just increase our damage to end this fight faster!" Alicia joyfully cried out, jumping into the heat of battle with her soldiers.

Originally, the plan was to take on the boss on Wednesday or next weekend, but Mortifer had cleared the Labyrinth so quickly that we found the boss room with little to no effort. Not only that, but he persuaded both his guild and my group to take on the boss with him. Because of that, Sakuya, Alicia, Ferrin and Beatrice naturally joined along. Violet was also in the room, though she was being heavily guarded by the GM who was monitoring her. She floated quite a distance above us, spectating the battle inside magical floating bubble. A worried expression was clearly painted on her face as we struggled against the Floor Boss we weren't prepared for.

«Lycia the Chimera» was a well-rounded boss with some versatile moves. Its giant body is the size of a public transport bus, and that's only if you excluded the goat head and snake tail. It was quick on its feet, giving us a short window to attack before it goes through its cycle once again. Massive claws and razor sharp fangs to attack close-range, a flame-breathing goat to burn anything nearby to a crisp, and a venom-spitting snake tail that acted independently from the main body. It frequently spat out pools of acid that contaminated the ground, making it dangerous to step on. Our raid team's tanks can't even tank properly as the acid wears down all affected equipment at an absurd rate. Some of us have near broken equipment, forcing us to switch to others in order to not lose our precious equipment.

Of course, Mortifer was the only exception as dodged the acid with ease and attacked even if the boss was in the middle of an attack of its own. The only attacks that hit him consistently were the flames due to its massive range. However thanks to resistance buffs from Trish and the Pookas' music, Mortifer didn't take much damage. This however only made him more reckless, causing his health to be below half no matter how many times we healed him. At this point, it seemed like he was silently telling us not to heal him.

"The chances of winning this fight are already slim…" Asuna deduced, "If we really want to defeat the boss now, we need to keep Mortifer alive for his high damage outputs."

"Actually Asuna-san, Mortifer-san doesn't seem to be doing that much more damage compared to the others," Trish chimed in. "I actually think that the boss is resistant to physical attacks."

Nearby, all eyes wandered towards to the dark-skinned girl in the white witch outfit. We looked at her, slightly confused and curious as to why the boss was resistant to physical attacks. All New Aincrad bosses lacked HP bars, making it significantly harder to tell how much damage had been done on it. Determining resistances and weaknesses of the boss was close to impossible without the use of a health bar, but that doesn't mean there was no way to do it.

"You know… Now that I think about it, my blade ever so slightly slides when I first make contact with the boss's hide," Ferrin mentioned. "You may be on to something…"

"Even if she is right, we lack in any sort of magical attack power," Sakuya reminded. "We'll have to settle on pure physical attacks alone."

"Have you guys not unlocked any elemental «Sword Skills»?" Trish questioned.

As soon as her words came out, everyone's eyes widened at the sudden remembrance of the new combat system the Ymir corporation had added. It wasn't the fact that we hadn't been using it, but SAO had no «Sword Skills» with elemental effects. I hadn't bothered learning about the new ones as I completely forgot with all of my schoolwork and dungeon clearing we'd been doing.

"Everyone, briefly look at your «Skills» and try to remember as many elemental «Sword Skills» as possible!" Asuna commanded. "Mortifer—"

When Asuna tried to tell Mortifer of the newly found information, she stopped momentarily before looking away. I turned to face Mortifer myself, and as I suspected, he was already using elemental «Sword Skills». Now that I thought about it, he had been using it since the near beginning of the fight. But because he wasn't saying anything, we never knew about it until Trish figured it out. I can't tell if it was meant to train us and his guild, or because he was trying to relieve his stress by going on a rampage in-game. I decided on the latter, given the current situation he is in.

"Breath attack in five seconds!" Yui shouted out, alerting everyone. "Four, three, two, one!"

At the same time her countdown ended, the goat's head opened its mouth, revealing a growing fireball forming inside of its throat. Everyone except Mortifer backed away from the Floor Boss as a massive blaze consumed much of the area around the boss. Mortifer was completely covered by the flames, preventing us from seeing him and his health bar. However, in the midst of the fiery chaos, I saw a bright flash of yellow along with a nearly indiscernible outline of Mortifer's two-handed sword. I soon heard the slicing and dicing of Mortifer's massive blade as well as the roars and groans of «Lycia».

When the flames dissipated, I could see Mortifer's sword surging with electricity before it too disappeared. When I looked back at the Floor Boss, I noticed that its snake tail was no longer intact, making me assume Mortifer had cut it off. The boss must have been low enough in HP for Mortifer to do that, but we still have the goat and lion to deal with. To add to that, Mortifer was in the red zone.

Fortunately, Mortifer backed away from the boss, hiding behind everyone including the mages to recover himself. From how he reacted to his situation, he wasn't trying to be completely reckless and was at least trying to live in order to help us beat the boss. Paradox rushed over to aid him with potions and magic, while everyone else took the opening Mortifer created us, as the snake tail was supposed to be the next to attack.

"With the snake gone, you have thirty seconds before it uses its next major attack!" Yui shouted out for everyone to hear. "If you can avoid the random claw attacks, you can all attack it with ease!"

"You heard the pixie girl! Go!" Zed cried out.

Everyone in the vanguard charged forward with weapons raised high. Behind the main fighters and tanks, the Pookas casted damage amplification spells on nearly all attackers, seemingly using up all of their mana as they fell to the ground right after. Aqua, along with Alicia's archers made a combined effort to weaken the boss while supporting us at the same time. Aqua and two others shot out «Explode Arrows», dealing magical damage to the boss while the rest of the archers immobilized the boss with «Chain Arrows». Even Paradox and Cayonz participated in the offense, by using «Aqua Stream» and «Ice Arrows» respectively.

With the boss being so big, sharing space wasn't a problem. Slowly but surely, I felt my attacks getting easier and easier. Each «Post-Motion Delay» I experienced between each «Sword Skill» seemed to get much shorter than before, and I managed to land several basic attacks, a _Howling Octave_ , a _Savage Fulcrum_ and even _Vorpal Strike_ before the thirty seconds were up. However, I ended my attack with the _Vorpal Strike_ , disabling my movements due to the «Post-Motion Delay». In fact, half of our vanguard ended their attacks with a «Sword Skill», so while half of us backed away before the next attack, the other half was at the mercy of the Chimera's. I was amongst the worst of that half as I was directly in front of the boss.

"Shit!" Zed exclaimed out of frustration, also stuck along with me in front of the boss.

"Kirito-kun! Zed-kun!" Asuna shouted behind me, safe from the next attack.

"«Lycia» is about to do a powerful swipe attack in front of it!" Yui shouted. "Run Papa!"

"I can't move!" I told them.

Agil, Rizer, Konno and the rest of the tanks all tried to move in front of us, but they were too far away. Everyone else didn't move as they were paralyzed from the delay, or knew that they weren't healthy enough to take a full hit. Even so, the one and only person to even attempt to save both me and Zed was Mortifer, who was in the red zone earlier but was now barely in the green. Using the blunt end of his massive blade, he shoved me and Zed out of harm's reach while taking a massive hit from the massive lion paw. His cloak was destroyed while his tunic fell off his body, almost broken into two pieces. He was topless, exposing the tattoo he had on his back from transferring his SAO avatar to ALO. I saw as his health bar dropped all the way down until it was a mere pixel away from zero. Before anybody could react to Mortifer's near death, my brother recklessly attacked the boss with the little HP he had.

Mortifer began to use _Astral Hell_ , a high level «Two-Handed Sword» 7-hit attack that increases in speed as it progresses. With his _Buster Sword_ , he slashed the lion's face several times before finishing off with a powerful downward strike down the middle of its face. At the same time however, «Lycia the Chimera» swiped its paw at Mortifer, hitting him with the very tip of its sharp nails. The boss shuddered momentarily before it fell flat on its belly. Mortifer fell forward right after, morphing into a purple «Remain Light» before his body hit the ground. As for the Floor Boss, it exploded into millions of pixels, officially ending the boss raid with a final attack from Mortifer, who died in the process.

Everyone fell to the floor first before they began to clap from the victory. That's just how tiring and stressful the boss fight was for us. While we all recovered our breath, Mortifer's «Remain Light» continued to hover next to where the boss died. Leafa hurried over to the flame and resurrected Mortifer with some sort of item. His flame grew in size before it transformed into his body. His _Buster Sword_ was now strapped behind his back, and he didn't look too happy.

"You all fought well," a voice sounded from above us. I looked up and saw Violet descending along with the GM. "It was a splendid fight to watch. You would have lost had you not realized the boss' weaknesses and for that boy's efforts."

"Can I get out of this bubble now?" Violet murmured out, looking at the GM.

The man snapped his fingers and the bubble popped, allowing Violet to move around. Usually she would approach Mortifer, but instead she moved further away from everyone, including the GM that was guarding her.

"If you guys are going to jump into a boss fight that recklessly again, we're not going to help you guys with these boss raids again," Sakuya declared.

"Well I thought it was fun Sakuya-chan! Even if it was a bit stressful!" Alicia meowed.

"Fun? Maybe… Stressful? Most definitely…" Ferrin sighed out.

"I-I agree with Ferrin-san…" Beatrice concurred.

"Let's just hurry up and open up the teleport gate to the 4th Floor," Zed groaned. Zed and most of the _Reapers of Sorrow_ began making their way to the newly formed staircase, leaving behind Mortifer, Violet, Rizer

"I'll follow you guys up on that," Klein heaved, trying to catch his breath while following them. Silica and Lisbeth hesitantly followed him as well, looking back towards us to see what we were going to do.

The Sylphs, Cait Sith, Imps and Pookas all went ahead with Zed to the 4th Floor, leaving behind me, Asuna, Leafa, Agil, Cayonz, Rizer, Violet, Mortifer and the GM. Soon, Mortifer too began to advance towards the staircase, only to be stopped by the GM, who seemingly teleported in front of him.

"You have a rather interesting blade…" the GM said, looking behind my brother's back to admire the massive _Buster Sword_.

The GM raised his right hand towards Mortifer, and held it steady in the air. Without warning, the _Buster Sword_ began to magically slide out of its own sheathe. The two-handed sword then slowly made its way towards the GM before Mortifer stopped it by grabbing it.

"What do you think you're doing..." Mortifer murmured.

"I'm simply doing something that the system hasn't done yet: delete a foreign object from the game," the GM grimly stated.

Upon hearing his statement, Mortifer put both of his hands on his blade while Violet rushed over to the GM, trying to push his hand down. Her face which used to be filled with sadness was now filled with desperation. Mortifer's face also changed from one of sadness and apathy to one of anger and desperation. Even though he was struggling to hold the sword still, he kneeled down to the ground, bowing his head to the GM.

"Nagato-san! Please don't!" Violet begged, "You have already taken too much from him!"

"Violet-sama… Why do you care so much for a murderer like him?" Nagato pondered.

I turned around to make sure others didn't hear. Unfortunately, it seemed to me that Sakuya and Alicia heard what the man stated, or at least some of it. The two Lords looked over to our direction with great concern, and I shook my head to warn them of trying to eavesdrop. Thankfully, they nodded their heads and carried on.

"It's simply an in-game weapon. I swear to you that I will replace it with a weapon of equal stats. But I cannot let this man have a foreign weapon that even I don't know of. Especially one as powerful as this."

"Nagato-sama… Please…" Mortifer spoke in a low voice. "Don't take this away from me too… This blade is very dear to me."

"Well, that gives me even more of a reason to take it away."

Nagato thrust his free hand out towards Mortifer, creating a near invisible air cannon that collided with Mortifer. My brother wasn't prepared to take such a hit, and was forced to let go of his blade. He was sent flying to the outer perimeter of the boss room, crashing into the unbreakable walls of the dungeon. The impact reverberated throughout the room, causing Sakuya and Alicia to look back once again as they hadn't passed through the gate yet. When I looked back at both Mortifer and Violet, their faces expressed defeat as they were helpless before the GM. Not even a second later, Nagato took the _Buster Sword_ into his own hands, and swung the blade towards the ground. The impact caused the massive blade to shatter instantly, breaking into several pieces before breaking into pixels.

The spectators of the event watched in silence as Violet fell to her knees, and Mortifer dropped his hands to the floor. His mouth was open in shock while Violet began to well up in tears. All throughout the tragedy, Nagato simply stared with an apathetic face, not even sparing a glance to the emotionally broken Violet. Even though Violet seemed to be banned from getting near Mortifer, she still attempted to crawl, but it was Mortifer who stopped her by holding his hand up. Before she could question his actions, Mortifer opened his menu and quickly logged out of the game, leaving Violet more distraught. Asuna hurried over to comfort her while rest of us continued to watch in silence.

"Onii-chan… What's going to happen to Katsu-nii and Ai-chan?" Leafa asked.

"I don't know Sugu… I don't know…"

* * *

 **(Kazuto)**

 **July 2025, 1 month later,** **«SAO Survivor School»**

The situation between Katsumoto and Ai hasn't gotten any better. In fact, it's gotten worse since Ai has tried to escape from her bodyguards both in-game and in the real world. In fact, one of her three real-world bodyguards is currently standing right next to her lunch table. Usually she sits with our big SAO group, but the circumstances forces her to sit alone. Even if she can sit with us, it doesn't seem like she wants to.

"How long is this going to last… It's been a month since this has started. More and more students are taking note of Ai-chan's bodyguards and are spreading rumors about her," Asuna whispered across the table.

"It lasts until Katsumoto gives up on her right?" Ryu (Zed) whispered back. "But there's no way that's going to happen. Katsumoto would never give up Ai, and she would never give up Katsumoto. They are too close to each other to simply break apart just like that."

"But, like… What's the worst that could happen?" Vitushi (ViVi) asked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Shut your mouth Vitushi. You're the one who caused this in the first place," Ariel (Aqua) grunted. "You don't have a special someone who's important to you like Katsumoto-san does. If the two of them get separated again, who knows what the two of them would do."

"T-That's my question! What do you guys think—"

"Dude!" Haru (Konno) snapped. "Shut up! Can't you see that none of us wants to talk about this right now?!"

"But, wasn't it Asuna-san who started it?"

Ryu slammed his fist against the table, catching the eyes of nearby people as well as Ai. He quickly stood up from his seat, and pointed to a random direction. He glared at Vitushi with enraged eyes, clearly done with the Ai's cousin.

"Go sit somewhere else Vitushi," Ryu commanded. "You clearly don't get the meaning of shut the fuck up, so leave now!"

"I'm sorry! Please, let me stay! I don't have anybody else to sit with!" Vitushi begged.

"You think I give a shit? If Katsumoto were here, the guy would have beaten you up by now. So if you don't want me to do it for him, I suggest you get your ass off that seat and go fuck off somewhere else."

Despite Ryu's excessive cursing that matched Katsumoto's savagery, nobody argued against him. Rather, almost everyone supported Zed in a way. Only Patricia (Trish) and Keiko (Silica) seemed to feel bad for Vitushi, but they didn't bother protecting him. Vitushi took his open bento and carefully walked away from the table, hanging his head down out of shame. Ryu slowly sat back down, and because of his ragged breathing, Midori (Paradox) proceeded to rub his back while leaning on his shoulder.

"How is it on your side Kazuto-kun?" Midori asked me.

"Not too well…" I told them. "Katsumoto already had poor eating habits before, but now I don't even think he is eating at all. He's lost so much weight. I feel like he's spent more time out of game than in-game too. I feel as though those missions you guys have been doing are his way to distract himself, even if it isn't working well."

"Speaking of missions, what is everyone's Saturday missions?" Aqua questioned.

"I have a protect and escort quest with ViVi in the morning. We have to go «Gattan», down in Salamander territory," Patricia chimed in.

"Eh?! Down there?!" Rika (Lisbeth) exclaimed. "Vitushi-kun is going to burn up if he wears that much clothing down there. But you should be careful as well."

"Yeah, the Salamanders haven't been nice lately," Ryu mentioned. "Katsumoto has been going on multiple missions down in that region. The Sylph and Cait Sith Lords won't give him a break, though I don't see him complaining. In fact, he's meeting up with them tomorrow once again for something important. Sometime during noon."

"Don't you think Eugene has figured out that Katsumoto''s the one who's been messing with his background plans?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't doubt it. After all, Katsumoto''s the only one I know of capable of defeating large groups of enemies without struggling. It makes it even easier since the culprit is an Imp. That's why Sakuya and Alicia have been sending him to do at least two missions a day so that they can stall Eugene enough before they directly target your brother. Anyways… I have an assassination mission to do tomorrow evening. Not a big fan of this type of mission, but it rolls in some cash, even if I don't get most of it."

"Haru. Aqua and I have to go down to «Jotunheimr» to help out a group farm some Evil-God class monsters," Midori stated.

"And I believe Zach (Rizer) and Zoan (Cayonz) will solely be working on that project of theirs. Have you seen it Kirigaya-san?" Haru asked me.

"Not yet, though I'm planning on going there soon. My sister knows of its location, but hasn't visited ever since my brother started his project," I told them. "He's very dedicated to it, despite his situation."

"What are we going to do with the Front Lines then if you guys are going to be out for most of Saturday?" Keiko questioned.

"We'll just stick with exploring the Labyrinth. I mean, we've focused on clearing so much that we've reached the 10th Floor already. They haven't even opened up anymore floors above the 10th," Ryu declared.

"I'd agree with you on that, though next weekend when school gets out, we're going to head down towards «Thule Island» to take this special quest for Yui," I informed them. "She wanted to see whales with her own eyes, and the quest is rumored to do just that."

"Sounds fun. Good luck with that," Midori said, smiling.

The school bell dinged loudly for everyone to hear. Saying our silent goodbyes to each other, we all went to our respective classes.

* * *

 **(Mortifer)**

 **The next day, Noon,** **«Yggdrasil City»**

Back in school, weekends always seemed to be the days I loved most. Yet here I was, sitting outside Zed and Paradox's home in «Yggdrasil City» in the middle of an impossible thunderstorm. How was it raining in a city above clouds? How was it raining when the World Tree's branches are numerous enough to block out the sun? Are there really clouds above me, or was there just so much rain that I couldn't see the blue sky that I was longing to see this whole day?

"Mortifer-san," a voice seemingly called out, but it was so faint against the rain that I ignored it.

The rain… Sometimes, I have no clue what to think of it. Is it happy, or sad? Does it make things ugly, or beautiful? I guess a light shower in a sunny summer day would make things look beautiful, while a heavy thunderstorm like this one would make things ugly. Rainbows would form after the rain on a sunny day, making the sky even more beautiful. Yet when you look at the ground, there's mud, dirty puddles, bugs and worms everywhere.

"Mortifer-san!" another voice shouted, but the voice was lost in the storm.

Puddles… I saw them back when I first met Violet. It had rained the night before on the 1st Floor, creating puddles everywhere. Most people would avoid any sort of puddle, especially murky brown ones like the ones I saw back then forming on the road itself. But occasionally I'd find a beautiful puddle, clear of any impurities. That night, those puddles shone just like Violet's eyes, reflecting everything I saw like a mirror. I often see people looking into bodies of still water like that all the time. Whether it be a pond, lane, or a puddle, people would sometimes stare at themselves through the mirror-like surface of the water. Who was it that fell in love with his own reflection… Ah yes… Narcissus… He died because he fell in love with himself. Yet here I was, looking at a reflection of myself in a puddle that was continuously being broken by the rain falling on it. I kept staring at the ugly image of my despair until it was blocked by a giant boot.

"Mortifer! We're here!" a familiar voice yelled into the storm, breaking my train of thought.

I looked up and saw eight figures directly in front of me. They varied greatly in height and size, but their appearances were masked by differently colored cloaks. I did however recognize the faces of Sakuya, Alicia and even Ferrin and Beatrice of the Imps and Pookas. The other five however were faces of people I had never seen before. The tiny specks of hair on my arm stood up, sending a tingling sensation throughout my body. I looked to my sides and noticed large groups of cloaked players, standing with their backs turned towards us. All of them were armed, giving me a sense of danger. But when the cloaked players in front of me pulled down their hoods, I knew I wasn't in danger, but rather the people in front of me.

"I am Gilder, Lord of the Gnomes," the tallest and biggest one grunted.

"I am Drake, Lord of the Spriggans. It is a pleasure to be acquainted with you, _Reaper of Sorrow_ ," the one in the black cloak bowed.

"I am Iris, of the Undines," smiled the girl cloaked in blue.

"And I am Silver, the best blacksmith of the Leprechauns! And I'm also their Lord!" the one wearing a helmet bragged.

The eight of the nine Lords of ALfheim Online stood before the doorstep of this tiny home in «Yggdrasil City», along with forty or so warriors from each respective group. Typically, a normal player would feel honored or intimidated by their presence, but I was simply caught off guard. In fact, I was more curious as to why eight Lords were standing in the doorsteps of a player home like this. Had I known there would be this many people both of high relevance and low relevance, I would had chosen the meeting place to be at the project site, even if it wasn't complete yet. But still…

"Sakuya… Just what exactly is going on here?" I asked the Sylph Lord.

"It is exactly what you see in front of you Mortifer," she stated. "Eight of the nine Lords of ALfheim have teamed up for this mission."

"Speaking of which…" I mumbled, eyeing the Lords and soldiers who were looking back at us. "What kind of mission is this going to be anyway?"

"Why you're favorite, of course! Assassination!" Alicia beamed, but her attempt was interrupted by a sudden boom of thunder that scared her and some of the other Lords.

"Assassination is the least favorite of the missions I do…" I corrected her.

"Oh poo… You haven't been fun at all lately…"

"Let's get back on track," I groaned, standing up from my seat on the staircase. "Who the hell am I assassinating for so many important people to show up? Huh? Is it Eugene?"

"Try higher kid," the Gnome Lord Gilder laughed out.

"Higher?"

"Mortifer…" Sakuya chimed in.

Sakuya went up the steps of the staircase and met me at the top. We were eye-level with each other, so we simply stared into each other's eyes. I could tell from her eyes alone that this time, she definitely wasn't fooling around.

"Your target is Mortimer. The Lord of the Salamanders"


	7. Chapter 6: Mortimer and the Salamanders

"Hold on a second…" I stopped Sakuya, holding my right hand up while using the left one to cover up my face to get my thoughts going.

"Can we wait inside then? The rain is a bit bothersome, don't you think?" Sakuya wondered, feeling droplets in her hand.

"I actually like the rain, though it may be because I'm an Undine," Iris smiled.

"If you're being troubled Sakuya-tan, I will use my newly made shield to shield you from the rain!" Silver bellowed out.

"I said don't use chan or tan… San is enough," Sakuya grimaced as she pushed past me to open the door to Zed and Paradox's house.

"Sorry to disturb!" Alicia shouted as she entered the house behind Sakuya. The two Lords politely took off their footwear and entered the living room.

"Oh?" Zed's voice sounded from inside. "You guys are having the mission briefing here?"

"Yup! You're going to have to make some space though. There are eight of us here,"

"Eight?"

At that moment, the rest of the Lords entered the small abode, starting with an excited Silver, a shy Beatrice, a nonchalant Ferrin, a bored Drake, a happy Iris and a bothered Gilder. The Gnome and I stared at each other as he walked past, and he gave me a sneer which I quickly ignored. There's no point making any conflict here, and I'd rather not threaten him in front of so many possible opponents. I looked around the street one last time and closed the door behind me.

When I walked on the wooden floor beneath my feet, I almost slipped from the dripping water of the Lords' cloaks. Thankfully, they all took it off and stored it within their «Inventories», leaving only a wet floor behind which dried up with a spare cloak I had in store. I stashed both of my cloaks away in my own «Inventory», leaving me with only my armor and newly made black muffler. The Lords have already made themselves comfortable on our two large couches, though it seemed they kicked Zed, Paradox, Konno, Aqua, Rizer, and Cayonz from the seats they had taken. Cayonz was still cleaning up the board game they were playing when I took my seat on the new bean bag chair that Zed bought. The ALfheim Lords looked at me questionably as I was being far too relaxed for the given situation that was just set down upon me. While the Lords stared, Rizer walked up to me and crouched down to my level.

"I thought you had a mission with Sakuya and Alicia… So why are eight of the nine Lords of ALfheim here?" he whispered, slightly freaking out.

"They want me to kill Mortimer of the Salamanders," I said aloud for everyone in my guild to hear.

Caught off guard, Zed, who was in the middle of drinking some sort of soda, spat out his drink with great force towards Konno, who blocked the stream of soda with his shield. Without complaining, the loyal friend simply took the rag from the kitchen sink and wiped the soda from his shield.

"Sorry Konno, but that's hilarious!" Zed burst out laughing. "They want you alone to assassinate the alleged brother of Eugene, who, if you guys don't remember, is quite possibly the third strongest player in the game after you and Kirito? Not to mention, the Salamander army… It's suicide."

"Of course, he won't be alone. This mission is a combined effort between our races to stop the Salamanders' advancement in both New Aincrad and in ALfheim," Silver smiled.

"We received reports from my Imp spies amongst the Salamander army that Mortimer and Eugene were planning on invading a capital city of a race. Doing that is equal to the death of a Lord, as the Lord's mansion is located in the capital cities of each race," Ferrin informed our guild, raising eyebrows of concern amongst my friends but not myself.

"We don't know when and where Eugene will attack, but we know for sure it will happen on a weekend. More than three-fourths of his army is away on the weekdays. It'll get worse during the break as he can attack any day," Alice whimpered.

"Even if we anticipate _when_ he will attack, it will do us better to know _where_ ," Drake claimed.

"Only knowing when will force us to protect all of our cities at once, meaning we can't give reinforcements to other races. Of course, we can also anticipate that they attack «Swilvane», as the Sylphs are their biggest competition while also being the biggest reward. But what if they attack a race like the Imps?" Gilder speculated.

"The only ones capable of giving the quickest and most reliable support will be us Undines," Iris butted in. "The Spriggans will take a bit longer, but they're better off than a race like the Pookas.

"N-Not to mention that the Sylphs are blockaded off by the Salamanders," Beatrice added. "With them being the most populous race and having the biggest army, they can easily attack a smaller race like the Imps. Without a problem."

"Have you guys considered attacking their capital while they are busy attacking another?" Paradox questioned.

"Yes, we did," Sakuya answered. "In that situation, knowing where is still better. If we only know when, we can only send forces to attack their capital soon after they leave to invade, forcing them to come back. By doing that, we can retreat and then they will realize they no longer have the power to attack us. But what if us Sylphs invade them while they invade us? We will lose our capital city while the Imps can take over the Salamander's. Knowing where they will invade can allow us to prepare a defensive front on that location while an offensive front on the other. Ideally, the Salamanders will face complete defeat if that happens. Then, everyone will—"

I quickly held up my hand to stop her from continuing any further because I realized now why Sakuya had a problem with only knowing when the Salamanders will attack. I sat up on my chair

"Tell me, what's your problem with the Imps taking over «Gattan» while you lose «Swilvane» to the Salamanders?" I asked her.

"Well, the fact that we lose our capital is one. But we also don't receive much benefit from having the Imps take over Salamander territory," Sakuya stated, causing Ferrin to make a concerned face.

"So, your problem is the fact that you're greedy, and don't trust Ferrin to split the profits equally amongst the races?"

"More like the share we receive is not enough compared to what we lost."

"Then do you prefer that the Imps get raided instead of the Sylphs?" I asked, trying to bait her to say what I wanted her to say.

"Look, none of us wants to get invaded, so we have to take care of our own races more so than the other races," Sakuya tried to explain but I ignored her words. "In my point of view, I'd much rather prefer that another race gets invaded so that we can take the capital for ourselves. Then we can—"

Sakuya paused, realizing now the words she had chosen and the way she spoke them. She also realized the stares coming from the seven other Lords, with the ones coming from Gilder, Ferrin and Drake being rather threatening. Alice looked concerned while Silver, Iris and Beatrice looked more hurt. Sakuya held up her hands in front of her face, as if trying to block an incoming attack directed towards her. She slowly leaned back on her couch as well to the point where she could do it no longer.

"Like I said, greed…" I reminded her before I relaxed on the bean bag chair once again.

"Okay… I'm sorry… I didn't mean it to come out that way…" Sakuya apologized.

"We agreed that everyone will protect each other as much as they would with their own race," Ferrin affirmed. "I'm not going to assist you against the Salamanders if it's for your own benefit."

"Well, aren't you the one who insisted on hiring Mortifer-san to assassinate Mortimer? Him being an Imp will allow you guys to take all of the loot and control of the city regardless if they attack us or not," Sakuya countered.

"It's not going to work if the person doing the killing was exiled from their race's territory, and I planned on doing that before the mission, but we needed to negotiate the fact that he can no longer enter Imp territory should he agree to do it."

"Not to be rude, but I wouldn't care if I was exiled. I don't really like the Imps' region anyway," I quickly interrupted before relaxing again.

"But if you were to exile him, then he would be the one receiving the funds from the Salamanders, and nobody would be able to tax the city as only a Lord can do that," Sakuya continued.

"If he kills Mortimer, then it's his reward for getting the money. It's his choice to split it up or not," Drake argued.

"But I thought we planned on splitting the Salamanders' funds while we gave him a billion Yrd?"

"I only agreed to that if the share I receive from the Salamanders is greater than the amount I shared with you guys for his mission reward. If the Salamanders have less money, he can have the entirety of the profits for all I care, but I'm taking back my share of that billion." Gilder shouted.

"And if the Salamanders have more Yrd than a billion?" Sakuya questioned.

"If he gives us the funds, and its greater than the share we gave, then we pay him the billion. If he doesn't give it to us, then we don't pay the billion and he keeps it. He wins all, and we lose none. I have no problem letting him win everything as long as none of you guys get a bigger advantage out of this than any other."

"I concur with Gilder's reasoning…" Beatrice added.

"I guess this whole meeting was a bust to begin with due to Sakuya's greed," Drake scoffed.

"Even if none of this happened, I wouldn't accept the mission at all," I finally stated, catching the eyes of everyone in the room including my guild.

"W-What do you mean Mortifer-san?" Alice asked.

"Look, I already told you that I don't like Eugene. But this isn't my problem at all. I only did those missions for the money because I need it to finish this project of mine. However, this mission is completely pointless. Why don't all of you guys just form a coalition army to take down the Salamanders to stop them? Ever thought of that? That way, you don't have to worry about a defensive and can easily overwhelm them with your forces. If the race that kills Mortimer or takes the capital decides to not split it, then go invade them or something. I don't know! Just go do something more practical than sending me into a literal suicide mission. Do you guys even have any god damn brains? Jeez…

I reached over to the table to grab the glass of water that I left. I completely drained the cup as my rant left my throat a bit dry and parched. Out of anger, I threw the empty glass behind me, causing it to shatter against the wall.

"How can the people of ALfheim elect such stupid people to lead them…"

"The hell did you just say about us you god damn prick?!" the Gnome Lord retaliated.

In an instant, I stood up from my seat and drew _Lux_ out of its sheath. I put the blade against Gilder's neck, and the large Gnome's face went numb out of nervousness. He visible swallowed hard while sweat began running down his neck. The other Lords around me were paralyzed out of fear.

"This may be a fucking «Safe-Zone Area» unlike most other places in ALfheim now, but that doesn't mean I can't intimidate someone like you," I threatened the Lord. "I don't give a shit if you're a Lord or not. I will kill you without a second thought if it weren't for this meeting, and for the fact that I hate Eugene even more than I hate you. So, you guys better give me a good fucking reason to accept this mission, otherwise I'm going to have to kick you guys out of my house right now."

"Technically it's my house, but whatever," Zed reminded, taking another swig of soda.

"Mortifer, I suggest you just take the mission man. It shouldn't be too difficult for you, and you have eight armies to cover your back for you," Rizer tried, but I ignored him.

"I'll only settle if they pay me a billion Yrd upfront, right now, and that I take on this mission solo," I demanded.

"M-Mortifer-san…" Alice nervously laughed out. "You're being completely unreasonable here."

"Yeah, why don't you bring us along? You can kill Eugene and Mortimer, but you need to escape the Salamander army as well. We'll cover you for that," Rizer insisted.

"A billion Yrd upfront and a solo mission… Take it or leave it…"

Before my guild or even the Lords reacted to my selfish demands, I began to hear loud screams coming from outside of the house. Zed was the first to react as he quickly rushed outside.

"Hey, get off! That's my friend you're hurting!"

My guild quickly followed him outside as did the Lords. Before I walked outside, I tried calming myself down only to realize that too much of my adrenaline and rage was coursing through my body. I gave up and decided to walk outside like the rest.

The storm had died down, but there was still a light drizzle. In the middle of the street, my guild was trying to break up a whole bunch of soldiers who were crowding around Violet. They probably mistook her for an intruder and tried to apprehend her. Although, it was a bit odd to find my guild protecting her first before Nagato. I looked down the street, on the roofs of buildings and even to the sky to find the GM, but he was nowhere to be spotted. Where the hell is he?

"What is going on here?" Sakuya questioned.

"We're sorry. We thought she was an enemy or an assassin," a Sylph soldier tried to explain.

"Well she's not," I quickly shouted back. I pushed past the Lords and walked down the staircase to meet with Violet. I checked my surroundings one last time before I spoke. "Where's Nagato?"

"H-He's not here right now…" Violet panted. "I don't know why, but he's just not here. But we have a bigger problem than that Mortifer…"

In my head, I thought how could Nagato's absence be a problem, but I shrugged it off.

"ViVi and Trish… They were captured by Eugene and are being held hostage!"

The entire area made a complete standstill as everyone was trying to process the words Violet had spoken. The guild looked at Violet with both shock and confusion, as did many others. Even I was caught off guard by her sudden announcement. In fact, I was caught so off guard that I temporarily forgot what she had told us just now, causing me to ask again.

"Um… V-Violet…" I stuttered, still confused. "W-What did you just say?"

"I said ViVi and Trish were captured by Eugene!" she yelled even louder. Because of her volume, I didn't doubt the fact that other people further away may have heard her.

"H-How did this happen?!" Aqua cried out, concerned for her friends. "In fact, how do you know?"

"ViVi managed to log out of the game when he was captured, and he spammed my inbox with text messages, emails and everything he can contact me with. He told me that they were attacked by Salamanders in the middle of their mission, with Eugene amongst the group that attacked them."

"Why would Eugene attack ViVi and Trish though despite knowing they are in our guild?" Konno questioned.

"To start, Eugene and I aren't really on good terms due to our pride," I reminded. "If he captured ViVi and Trish, he must want something from me."

"Do you suspect that he found out our plans of them hiring you to assassinate Mortimer?" Paradox theorized. "It would make sense if that was the case, trading two lives for one of importance to him."

"W-Wait, these guys were hiring you to kill the Salamander Lord?!" Violet exclaimed.

"These guys?" Gilder grumbled, scowling towards Violet. I turned my head towards the Gnome, giving him a quick death stare that forced him to look away out of fear.

"According to their spies, the Salamanders have saved enough money to launch a siege on any capital city of any race, even the Sylph capital of «Swilvane». Because of that, they wanted me to assassinate Mortimer of the Salamanders to drastically reduce the amount of funds they have while also letting them be able to tax the Salamanders for some time. Therefore, the amount of funds they receive during that time will allow the other races to build up their own army to protect themselves from the Salamander attack… At least, that's what I assume."

"Well, you're not entirely wrong. The Salamanders haven't bought much of the equipment they need to invade a capital city," Iris started. "Our original plan was to simply get you to kill Mortimer to drain their funds. By doing that, we'll have more money for ourselves and the Salamanders will be left with nothing. They wouldn't dare attack us after such a loss."

"So… What will you do now Mortifer?" Zed questioned me.

Everyone in the area went silent once again as we were pelted by the thousands of droplets raining down on us. The soldiers of the eight races looked at me in both curiosity and wonder, seemingly trying to figure out what I would do. The same applied to the Lords, except for Sakuya and Alicia, who seemed more worried and scared than curious. My guild seemed even more worried, probably because they probably knew what I was going to do already. Seemingly acting out of instinct, Aqua stormed up the staircase and took both my hands into her own. Despite the rain drops that covered her face, I still managed to distinguish the tears running down her cheeks.

"I know that this is just a game, and that she is not in any danger of losing her life… But please…" Aqua begged quietly. "Save Patricia Mortifer-san… Get Trish back from them… I'm afraid of what will happen to her."

Aqua was fully aware that this was no longer SAO, meaning that ViVi and Trish's capture wasn't that big of a deal. In fact, the whole Salamander invasion situation may be an even greater situation. However, Aqua's words seemingly held an even greater meaning behind them. Her eyes began to tear up even more, and my instincts told me that she was on the verge of breaking down. I freed my right hand from her grasp and patted the blonde-haired girl on the head. I opened my «Inventory» and materialized the mask Violet made me a long time ago, as well as the new cloak she made in secret. Along with that, I switched in my current armor with a new set that I had to try out.

Rizer had «Completed» his «Light Metal Armor Forging», allowing him to create the highest quality armor in the game. After several tedious missions around ALfheim including inside of «Jotunheimr», he created me a new set of armor. Due to my loss of «Darkness Blade», «Dual Blades», «Martial Arts» and «Meditation» I had four open «Skill Slots». As a replacement, I added «Light Metal Armor» to my arsenal and left three slots open for my own choosing later in the future. I had no need for any more combat «Skills» as I had no interest in learning any more weapons in the game. And because of the high-quality armor Rizer created, it was as light as my old leather armor but protected me even better. There was no reason for me to keep using «Leather Armor», but I decided to keep the skill anyway as it even applied to normal clothing.

"Don't worry Aqua… I promise I'll get her back as soon as possible," I told her. "And I'll save ViVi on the side of that…"

I lightly pushed Aqua aside and walked down the steps. I confronted Sakuya and stared right into her dark eyes and wet face.

"How much backup do you want?" she asked me, and I scoffed at her in response.

"Backup? I don't need your help, nor anyone's. I'm only going there to save my friends. If you get in my way, I'll kill you all myself."

Without giving them even a second to argue or process my words, I summoned my wings and exploded upwards, creating a huge gust of wind that pushed rain drops away momentarily. After going straight up, I headed for the drop-off towards the end of «Yggdrasil City» and went off the edge. I withdrew my wings and let myself freefall past the clouds below me and into the sunny realm below the World Tree and above the «Alne Plateau». I glided down to a lower level before reforming my wings and headed straight south for the «Dragons Valley». I clenched my fists and cracked all my fingers, preparing for the inevitable situation that I so badly wanted to avoid.

* * *

 **An hour later, the desert fields of** **«Gattan»**

My cloak quickly dried itself once it entered the scorching heat of the southern deserts. I was still getting used to the new set of armor Rizer made, but I was also struggling with the intense summer heat the desert brought. I realized how quickly I would get tired when I passed by several Salamanders on my way here. The Salamanders offered to escort me to their leader, but out of rage, I simply took them down with a few swings of my twin blades. After only killing twenty enemies, I found myself running short of breath, forcing me to consume in-game items to rejuvenate my avatar. However, I was too enraged when I killed those twenty players that I absorbed their Voices within my head.

Other than that, it seemed that Eugene already knew I was coming. My encounters with the Salamander warriors gave me suspicions that one of the Lords had some sort of mole ratting them out. If not, then he probably suspected that I would personally visit him once I found out that he had captured my friends. Another concern I had was the fact that I occasionally saw other warriors from the eight other races following me. Being acquainted with their leaders, I simply killed only one warrior from each group I found and kept giving them warnings each time. I believed the Lords learnt the message after I killed about thirteen of their soldiers as I had not seen anybody else come for the past couple minutes. If not, then I had simply moved too fast for them to help any longer. After all, I could clearly see «Gattan» ahead of me, and what looked like a massive swarm of flies as well as a thin, red, circular wall on the yellow sands of the desert.

Within the large hollow area of the red circle stood a smaller group of players as well as some sort of large wagon or carriage. I noticed two bodies standing a short distance away from the small group, making me assume that it was Eugene and probably Mortimer waiting for me. Without hesitation, I tucked in my wings, and divebombed straight towards them. I whizzed past the flying Salamanders and went above the ones on the ground. Right before I hit the ground, I opened up my wings to drastically decrease my speed, and landed on the ground with a large boom, creating a cloud of sand. I covered my face with my cloak, hoping not to get any sand in my eyes or my mask.

"Like I said, he will come here," a familiar voice spoke. In fact, the voice was so familiar that it made me grow concerned.

"Heh… I guess I really shouldn't doubt people of your status level," Eugene's voice laughed out somewhere inside the sand cloud.

An ominous gust of wind suddenly blew the cloud away, allowing me to see my surroundings clearly. In front of me stood Eugene in his blood red armor, but beside him was not the one I was expecting. My mind was thinking that I would see the Salamander Lord Mortimer standing beside him, but instead I saw someone who shocked me even more. Standing beside my upcoming opponent was Nagato, wearing his GM robes. He looked at me with his emotionless face once again and began taking steps back towards the group of people behind him.

ViVi and Trish were amongst that small group, and they were tightly bound in some sort of rope and gagged. ViVi had extra gags for obvious reason and he was visibly trying to get out of his bindings, adding more stress to Trish as they were bound together. I saw tears streaming down her cheeks as well as a frightened expression on her face. I looked back to Nagato once again and saw a little smirk form on his face, making me clench my fists.

"Nagato-sama… What is the meaning of this?" I demanded from him. "Why are you here with Eugene?"

Instead of hearing his voice with my ears, I heard him directly in my head. When I noticed that he wasn't opening his mouth, I realized that he was using some sort of telepathy so that only I could hear.

"This is your own fault Kirigaya-kun…" he stated. "Because you have corrupted Ai-sama's head, she is unable to perform in school as well as before, and her grades are deteriorating. Your presence in her life is severely affecting her, and you must be removed."

"Are you sure that it is my fault and not your masters'?" I shouted out to Nagato, not exactly knowing how to communicate telepathically. Because of my actions, Eugene gave me a confused and angered look.

"The hell are you talking about?" he growled.

"I'm not talking to you tin can," I snapped back. Eugene placed a hand on his «Demonic Sword Gram» and held its pummel tightly. I ignored his threatening actions and pointed at Nagato "I'm talking to your friend or acquaintance back there."

"The consequences for prolonging this situation will only get worse, as I don't want to see Ai-sama suffer any longer. I ask you to surrender yourself now and pledge to never see Ai-sama ever again." Nagato declared. I clenched my fists so hard that I felt like I was on the verge of breaking my own fingers.

"You expect me to accept those unreasonable conditions?"

"I expect you to realize the consequences that will be brought if you don't accept them… I've already gone past the powers of a GM as I had to bribe this helpful boy here to capture Vitushi-kun and the girl. However, this plan that Hitori-kun came up with has worked out splendidly so far."

ViVi, Trish and I all raised our eyebrows out of surprise. It was no wonder that Eugene didn't seem to hesitate to capture ViVi and Trish, knowing full well that they were of my guild. Eugene cared only about power, and if Nagato bribed him with any sort of way to get more power, then Eugene undoubtedly accepted it. It would also explain why ViVi and Trish were captured as their mission was to protect and escort a very new player to Spriggan territory through a low-difficulty field dungeon towards the border of the continent. It was highly unlikely for Eugene himself to grind monsters with a group in such a terrible location, let alone grind at all. And to go so far towards the border of the world was even more odd for him. In fact, of all the places in ALfheim, that field dungeon was probably the most isolated location because it was so bad. That's why I entrusted the quest to ViVi, but I needed Trish to monitor his stupidity.

"So, you used my friend, and even ViVi to get rid of me once and for all?" I asked him, shocked and angered.

"Precisely," he said with a smug expression.

"Just how far are you going to go to get rid of me?"

"I'll show you, but first, this boy wants to talk with you." Nagato said, pointing at Eugene.

"Yes… That's right…" Eugene spoke. "About time you two finished… Brother, you can talk to him now."

Eugene took two steps to the side so that he was no longer blocking my view of the red carriage. Two players dressed in robes pulled apart a set of red curtains that were blocking the view inside of the carriage. A dark silhouette could be seen inside of the carriage, sitting in some sort of big chair. More silhouettes appeared, and they stepped outside of the carriage and into the light. They were four female Salamanders dressed in rather risqué clothing, though still less revealing than Aqua. They giggled loudly as they headed to the back of the carriage and grabbed the cloth that acted as the cover. In unison, they pulled the red cloth, revealing what was inside.

A red, gem-encrusted throne sat in the middle of the carriage, along with messy piles of food, drinks and weapons. Sitting on a throne was a Salamander fully dressed in regal-looking armor. The intense crimson color of the armor matched Eugene's, but it wasn't as bulky or dull as the General's. Instead, it was sleek and shiny, and looked very light to wear. He wore a red cape that was outlined with both gold cloth and jewelry. The man wore a rather menacing demon helmet, whose dark red color and dullness contrasted greatly from the lavish armor he wore. The man took off the helmet, revealing a face that I had only seen once before in pictures online.

"I believe you know who I am, but I'll introduce myself regardless. I am Mortimer, Lord of the Salamanders," he greeted. "It is an honor to meet a man of such legendary status."

"Really? Legendary? The King of the supposed strongest race is calling me Legendary? What exactly have I done in this game to receive a legendary status?" I asked him.

"Oh, don't jest with me, _Reaper of Sorrow_. You know full well what you and your brother has accomplished in this game. After all, many people saw the video before it was taken down by someone."

"Video?" I questioned, frowning slightly.

"Are you really that clueless? Or are you so busy playing this game to even check what's going on in the real world?" Mortimer laughed. He looked at me to see if I was being serious, and I simply stared at him behind my mask. He sighed and shook his head. "Someone posted a video of you fighting that silver-haired man in «Yggdrasil City» two months back. I believe you earned millions of views before it was taken—"

"Okay, I don't care about the video anymore!" I quickly interrupted, getting tired of hearing about a stupid viral video of me. "Just tell me what the hell you want from me?"

"We know that you were sent here to assassinate me," Mortimer informed me, causing me to frown from the newly received intel. "Well, at least that is what this Gamemaster told us, though I don't really have a clue as to why he would be helping players this way. But, I like what he's doing. It is highly beneficial for our race."

That damn Nagato… At first, I thought he only used my friends to ruin me, but now he's abusing his admin powers to get the entirety of this game to go against me. He must've infiltrated the previous meeting the Lords' had before they came to me for this mission. That had to have happened several hours ago, or before today, as there was no way Nagato could have planned this whole thing out in a matter of minutes. Had he done so, I doubt he could have persuaded Mortimer to do such a thing since the guy never takes risks.

"I didn't come here to kill you Mortimer… I only came here to persuade you to release my friends. So, will you please let my friends go?" I pleaded.

"You understand that I am a strategist, right?" Mortimer questioned.

"Yes…"

"Then wouldn't you say that simply letting your friends go free isn't the best option? How about we do a trade!"

"What do you mean?"

"What I'm trying to say, is that I have an interesting mission for a mercenary such as yourself. In exchange for your two friends and an even greater sum of Yrd, I want you to assassinate the other eight Lords of ALfheim Online!"

I glared at the man out of shock and confusion. The situation that unfolded before me seemed to come out of one of those fictional tv shows, movies or animes. An assassin sent to kill someone betrays the original client due to a counter-offer by the target. However, it seemed that Mortimer overestimated my abilities if he thought that I could take down the other eight Lords without some back up.

"The mission they gave me has nothing to do with the current situation. Therefore, my answer to your offer is no," I declared. "I will not kill you, nor will I kill the other Lords. Even if I decided to do so, I believe that you are overestimating my skills far too much."

"Oh, stop your jesting already _Reaper of Sorrow_ …" he said, shaking his head. "You of all people should know how easy of a mission that would be for you. But, if you continue to refuse, then you can ask my brother Eugene for the only other way you can get your friends."

The servants of the Salamander Lord began taking items from the food pile and held up goblets for the Lord to drink from. The four servants took seats on the throne's armrest, Mortimer's lap, on the side of the throne and even between the man's legs. In fact, one of them was resting her head on his crotch area, causing me to sneer at them in disgust. I then looked at Eugene, who had drawn out his _Demonic Sword Gram_. He was cleaning it with a tiny red rag which he then tossed aside. He easily lifted the massive two-handed sword and pointed it towards me.

"I've had enough with you always having this condescending attitude," Eugene growled. "Bossing me around as if you're my superior, yet you haven't even proven yourself like your brother has. So, if you want us to release your friends, then you're going to have to duel me first."

"Seriously…" I sighed. "I expected a fight, but a duel? You lost to my brother, so there's no way you can beat me Eugene."

"There it is again… That condescending attitude of yours… I'll make sure that after this fight, you won't ever look down on me again. You should worry as I trained hard to prepare for this fight."

"At least you acknowledged the fact that you needed to train to beat me…"

His eyes burned with rage, and he slammed his _Demonic Sword Gram_ into the ground. Without saying any words, he proceeded to open his  «Inventory» and went through a rather long list of items before he stopped at one. He selected the item and it materialized in front of him in a flash of bright pixels. At first, I wasn't that worried as the _Demonic Sword Gram_ was the most powerful two-handed sword, so there was no way he could bring out something more powerful that it. However, when I saw what was in front of me, several different emotional switches triggered within me.

Eugene held the _Buster Sword_ in his hands and wielded it with ease. The blade still had Violet's real name engraved in the metal and didn't seem to be any different from the last time I saw it. I quickly turned my head towards Nagato and I could see the faintest smirk form on his face. While an evil grin grew on both Nagato and Eugene's faces, rage fueled my heart's adrenaline glands. Suddenly, the _Buster Sword_ began giving off a red glow as well as the _Demonic Sword Gram_. That's when I witnessed the unbelievable.

The _Demonic Sword Gram_ began to merge with the _Buster Sword_ , and the two blades let out a brilliant flash of red while still in Eugene's hands. He smiled as my beloved sword started transforming its shape ever so slightly, keeping most of its brutish qualities while becoming a double-edged blade like Eugene's own sword. The general size of the blade got smaller, but its length was noticeably bigger than the _Buster Sword_. The blade now had a coppery-red color that only made it fit Eugene even more. A small screen of light appeared in front of Eugene along with a few lines of text. I had some trouble reading the lines, but I managed to discern the name: _Demon Buster_.

"Go ahead… Draw your blades Mortifer… Let's settle the title of the strongest, once and for all…" Eugene taunted.

When he told me to draw my weapons, I assumed he would at least wait for me to prepare myself. However, that wasn't the case as Eugene flew straight towards me with his new legendary-class weapon. I had no clue if the blade was stronger than _Holy Sword Excalibur_ , but being a combination of both the _Demonic Sword Gram_ and my _Buster Sword_ , I did not want to underestimate its power.

Knowing the _Ethereal Shift_ passive of the original _Demonic Sword Gram_ , I didn't want to risk blocking the attack, even if I block with two blades. There's a chance that Nagato gave the blade the ability to pass through any sort of block no matter how many layers of defense there were. It made sense for him to do that since I had only been using _Lux_ and _Sanctus_ ever since he took my _Buster Sword_ away. And being a GM, I think he knew of the fact that the _Demonic Sword Gram_ had a weakness in that it could only phase through one item. If that wasn't the case, then this fight would become much easier, but I also didn't want to doubt the chances of it happening.

I slid past Eugene's blindside, grazing past his bulky armor. I momentarily saw his eyes glaring down at me, and I instinctively pushed him away using my bare hands. He veered quite a distance away from me, giving me time to unsheathe _Lux_ and _Sanctus_. Eugene quickly turned around and rushed for me, but I reacted to his advance and summoned my own wings to evade. Eugene swung continuously, grazing my cloak several times since the blade had a huge reach. We kept ascending and descending, but my flight space was limited due to the Salamander army constantly shifting their positions to create an impassable wall. I typically hated fights with rules, as it doesn't let me go all out. But the biggest problem I had was the fact that Eugene was technically wielding my blade. In fact, the _Demon Buster_ even had Violet's name engraved within its red metal, making me assume it also had the _Eternal Memories_ passive. The passive shouldn't help Eugene in terms of combat strength, but I knew that it was only there to mess with my mind. Nagato knew that my mind was far weaker than my body, so he did that on purpose.

"Are you just going to keep flying away, coward?!" Eugene roared.

"If you at least had the brains of your brother, then you would realize that this is simply strate—"

I stopped my sentence when I felt my wings suddenly numb. In the split second that it was numb, I lost my balance and tumbled forward, allowing Eugene to catch up with me fully and be in range for a full attack. He brought his sword above his head and made a downward swing towards my back. I tried my best to turn around to face him, instinctively holding up my twin swords in front of me to block the attack. Time seemed to slow down for me as my assumption of the _Demon Buster_ 's ability became reality. Using its newly improved _Ethereal Shift_ ability, Eugene's monster of a blade passed through both of my own, landing a clean hit on my torso, sending my flying downwards to the ground.

The impact and the cut brought me down to a little bit below three-fourths of my maximum HP. Had I been wearing my old armor, I may be even below half HP. Even though Eugene had an opening to attack me, he didn't take the time to get closer and make the cut deeper. He only managed to cut into my skin though he did affect a rather large area. I was thinking Eugene was going to take pride in his handiwork and let me get up, but he was taking no chances. He dove straight towards me, and I quickly rolled sideways to avoid a potentially fatal blow. I recovered my footing. Eugene stabbed the ground beneath him and got his sword stuck. Just like him, I wasn't nice enough to wait for him to pull his blade out, so I rushed at him with both of my blades and sliced into his back with both swords. I managed to make deep cuts, possibly damaging his avatar's organs, but I noticed something odd. I felt more resistance than usual, and I watched as his health only dropped down to three-fourths of his maximum HP.

There was no way a clean hit like that from blades made by a master blacksmith could only do that little damage. The amount of resistance I felt from the blades was also odd, as I had less trouble cutting into _The Stone Golem_ , which was a boss that was resistant to physical attacks. The entire situation put me into a quick daze, and I was shocked to even notice that Eugene's HP was refilling ever so slightly. Knowing exactly who was causing it, I was blinded by my rage and flew towards Nagato and prepared to attack him. My actions scared Mortimer as he thought I was going for him, but Nagato remained calm and simply pushed me back with a powerful, invisible thrust. I was sent flying back to Eugene, who prepared himself like a batter getting ready to receive a pitch.

I recovered myself mid-air before I reached Eugene, but my momentum carried me into his blade. However, instead of dodging, I purposely dove straight towards Eugene and into his blade. At the speed I was travelling in, I managed to get half of my body past half of his blade, but now he had a chance of cutting me into two. But, I had a plan for that as well. Using my bare hands, I pushed against the flat side of Eugene's blade with all my strength, pushing my body away from the blade while simultaneously pushing his blade away from me. The amount of space I created allowed me to perform a roundhouse kick to his face.

I left the General dazed momentarily, allowing me to take a free shot on his legs, hoping I could dismember him. I attempted to execute a spiral attack on his left leg, but when my blade cut deep enough to the point where I reached his virtual bones, my blades were completely stopped by some invisible object within Eugene's leg. The sudden halt in my attack sent a powerful recoil into my virtual body, numbing my arms enough to the point where I couldn't pull out of his leg fast enough. The moment of weakness left me open to another one of Eugene's attacks. However, before Eugene could take a shot, I used all my strength to pull _Lux_ out of Eugene's leg, forcing me to leave behind _Sanctus_. I barely dodged his attack, but I lost _Sanctus_ as the blade was now unreachable. An ominous gust of wind blew around us, causing both Eugene and I to cover our eyes, However, I did manage to see my blade get buried by the sand around it. I tried to make a mental note of its location in my head, but Eugene didn't give me the time to concentrate on doing so. He continued his rush, and his health which had been reduced to a little bit below a three-fourths of his max HP was now slowly going up once again.

"Are you that stupid to not notice your health slowly going up?!" I shouted out to Eugene, but my voiced failed to shout loud enough

At least I thought my voiced failed when neither my mouth nor my vocal chords even working. I can feel my lip muscles moving and my tongue vibrating my vocal chords, but that was all in my mind. I was so distracted at the fact that I was unable to speak or even move my mouth that Eugene managed to slip in a punch to my torso. I was blown back, and he landed a clean hit on my left thigh, cutting a deep wound and causing my health to drop down to half. As I was recovering from the attack, I noticed on the top left corner of my vision a tiny speaker with a line dashing through it right next to my health bar. It was the "mute" symbol commonly found in many devices, programs and games that have audio to indicate a silence in audio.

Nagato noticed that I caught up to his scheme and had muted in-game. In fact, I didn't even know there was a mute function in VRMMORPGs. His actions prevented me from telling Eugene about how oblivious he was to his gradually healing health bar. I fully expected Eugene to not notice his health bar, that is unless he was intentionally ignoring it as he was working with Nagato. He had already stolen my blade from me, so it made sense if he knew about his health bar. However, even I trusted Eugene to not go so far as to cheat so much in a fight he had so badly wanted for the longest time. After all, he cared for his pride greatly.

However, the fact that Eugene was healing along with his abnormally durable body told me that Nagato had no faith in the guy. Nagato had seen me fight before, so he knew how skilled I was. Maybe he knew of Eugene, which is why Nagato chose him, but I highly doubted it. After all, the only thing Eugene had any longer in terms of reputation was that he was the confirmed second-strongest player in the game, right after Kirito. Since Nagato had been trailing me and Violet the whole time, I was confident that he knew I was stronger than my brother. But, because Nagato knew of that, there was no way I was going to win anymore.

I continued to dance around Eugene as he maintained his relentless barrage of attacks. However, as I delved deeper into my thoughts, the elegant dance I was performing to dodge the man's attacks was slowly becoming more stagnant. My one-legged side hops became two-legged leaps of desperation to avoid an attack. The twists and turns my body kept doing to barely avoid the blade while wasting minimal energy became overblown spins that made me even more tired as I was moving much more than necessary. Not only that, but the extreme heat of the desert was finally getting to me. Being a Salamander, Eugene was biologically resistant to heat already, meaning he already had an advantage to begin with. It was one I didn't expect as most of my battles never last this long. The only battles I had been through that lasted this long were boss fights, but I had my friends to both cover and heal me when I needed them to.

The heat exhaustion was finally getting to me, and Eugene mustered enough strength in his right leg to kick my legs hard enough to make me lose my footing. I fell on my back while Eugene towered above me. When I looked up at him, I was blinded by the sunlight, and could only see a shadowy silhouette that was far bigger than Eugene's actual size. In the moment of absolute power, Eugene stabbed his _Demon Buster_ all the way through my stomach, and into the ground beneath me. He stuck his entire blade all the way through me, stopping at the guard as it could not pierce my body. The sensations I was feeling throughout the whole fight disappeared, and I was left completely in my thoughts. My mind scrambled through so many different memories, thoughts and emotions as I watched that orange health bar slowly lower down to red. It kept going further and further down, yet it seemed to get even slower for me. At the same time, Eugene finally decided that enough was enough, and he left his sword in me to celebrate his victory. Even if he didn't kill me yet, he still won. There was nothing I could do. No more _Yami no Saji_ to give me a final desperation move. No more Kayaba Akihiko to give me his now unavailable account to help me overcome another GM. No friends nor back-up to help me win the fight.

I had forsaken those around me once again. Forsaken them due to my own stupidity and pride. I had always gone into dangerous and reckless fights solo, thinking that those who wanted to support me would only hinder me. Now here I was, begging for someone, or something to come save me and my friends from the future being set down upon us. Where were the Lords and their armies? Where was my guild who I had been through so much with? Where were my brother's friends? Where was Asuna? My sister? My brother? Most of all… Where was Violet? Where was the only source of light I had in this dark world? No, it would be better to say that she was the realm of the light itself. She was both the threshold and the house itself. I wanted to feel the silky hair that warmed my body. I wanted to hold those soft hands that warmed my heart. I wanted to touch the lips that warmed my soul. Most of all, I wanted to see those eyes that brought me to light. Neither the blazing sun above me, nor the hiding moon under me could make such a bright world for me. Only those eyes could do it, and I was going to lose them.

"How does it feel, _Reaper of Sorrow_?" Nagato's voice pierced through my thoughts.

The man walked up next to my fallen body, blocking the sun which had been blinding me the entire time. His face didn't express joy in my defeat, nor did it express a simple apathy. In fact, his expression showed me pity. After all that he's made me gone through, taking my blade, my friends and Violet away from me, he showed me pity now? I wanted to say that it was too late for him to show me pity, but my voice failed me once again. This time, however, I wasn't muted. I just simply couldn't find the strength to do anything but lay down on the scorching sands beneath my body while I listened to the cries and cheers of the celebrating Salamanders. With this victory of his, and with the fact that many people assumed I was stronger than Kirito, Eugene had regained his title as the strongest in all of ALfheim Online. I wanted to argue and say that this fight was set-up from the start, but I really couldn't find the energy to do anything.

"See, brother!" Eugene called out to Mortimer. "I told you that I would beat him! Why did you doubt I could do it?"

"It was simple strategy Eugene," Mortimer's voice chuckled faintly in the distance. "If I roused your emotions and your will to beat him, you would have definitely won through your hard work. I'll be honest that I doubted you before your training, but I never doubted your potential to beat him."

"Of course! I'm the strongest after all! Now, since we're done here, I may as well kill his friends as a warning sign to that bitch Sakuya and her coward friends."

"Go ahead. I'll just enjoy the view from here."

I rolled my head to the side so that I could face them. Now, I could see how my failure to do anything would bring consequences to those around me. And it started with the Salamander soldiers who were guarding ViVi and Trish. They seized my friends, grabbing them by the tight ropes that bound their arms to their body. ViVi tried to fight back and attempted to kick his attackers. However, the guard anticipated his retaliation, and punched ViVi in the gut. The strike prompted ViVi to fall on his knees, causing Trish to fall on his back. The same guard who had hit ViVi prepared to kick my noisy friend but ViVi rolled a bit to the side, causing Trish to fall and block the hit for him. However, in return, Trish took a kick straight to the gut. The two Salamander guards keeping watch over them laughed at the pitiful look of my friends and proceeded to lay a beatdown on them. Even though Eugene said he was going to kill them himself, he let his soldiers continue with their assault. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Nagato stormed his way to them.

"Stop!" Nagato shouted out in rage and desperation. "Stop it, right now!"

His voice literally cracked the sky as it literally summoned an ear-splitting lightning bolt that struck the two guards, shocking them into paralysis and then death. The two Salamanders blew up into pixels of light, leaving behind nothing but their «Remain Lights». Eugene, Mortimer and the rest of the Salamanders were caught completely off-guard by the sudden actions of the GM. They were shocked at what transpired and were in fact too scared to do anything. I had no clue if Nagato accidentally called upon a thunderstorm during his fit of rage, but the scorching desert fields of «Gattan» rapidly cooled down as dark clouds loomed over us. A drop of rain splashed on the sand in front of me before it seeped down below. Afterwards, two more came down from the sky, and soon, the entire desert was being drenched by the unnatural rain.

"I'll be taking back both that new blade of yours and the gold you received from me, as punishment for letting your soldiers do that to these players," Nagato declared. While Mortimer nervously nodded in agreement, Eugene was completely outraged.

"What the hell do you mean?! I went through all of this to get what you wanted when you could have done it yourself as a GM!" Eugene shouted. "And you even gave me permission to capture and kill those two! So, what the hell!"

"I gave you permission to do only that, boy. I didn't tell you, or anybody else here to assault them like that."

"Why does it matter?! They can't feel the pain in-game!"

"Brother… Calm down…" Mortimer tried suggesting.

While the foolish Eugene argued with the angered Nagato, the sandy desert continued to be pelted by the rain. The sand slowly turned into mush, causing me to sink into a small depression, as well as every player who was standing in the vicinity. The flying soldiers touched down to the ground, and hid themselves using their shields, weapons or any object they had with them to protect themselves from the rain. A large group of Salamanders with shields formed a makeshift roof above them while their other comrades hid underneath them. Some of the sand that could not stay put began to wash away down tiny rivers, forming small puddles in the sand that gained more water than it could drain. The shifting wet sands eventually revealed the location of _Sanctus_. The black blade was right next to my left hand… The hand where it belonged. I grabbed its hilt and turned my head back to the right to face them once again.

The black storm clouds blocked the sunlight from beating down on us. It also made the desert which had been as bright as the sun itself turn as dark as the night. My vision was fading as my health bar continued to decrease down towards zero, rapidly flashing red. The sounds of argument began to fade and all I could hear now was the sound of the rain and thunder. A great numbness was reaching my body, and I could feel a warmth building up inside of me. The warmth felt so good that I wanted to close my eyes and take a rest. However, when lightning cracked the sky, in the instant of time that I was given light to see the world around me, I both saw and heard Trish as she freed her mouth from her gag and let out a deafening scream. Nagato, Eugene, Mortimer and many of the players around her covered their ears out of instinct to avoid the painful volume of her cry. ViVi, who was right next to her, was forced to sit through it all as his arms were bound, but he seemed more surprised and worried than bothered by her screaming. Trish held her scream for an extended duration before she was silenced by her Salamander guards with another kick to her gut. When her voice failed, my mind started to work again. I quickly remembered what had happened not too long ago, before I had left.

The memory was now fresh in my mind thanks to Trish's scream for help. Aqua, Trish's blonde-haired best friend, had told me it before I left to save ViVi and Trish. She told me to save Trish. She told me to do it even though she trusted that I would. She even told me that she knew that it was only a game, yet she was still afraid of what might happen to her. Yet here I was, defeated and unable to do anything to help my friends…

Defeated… Incapable… Unwilling…

No… That's not right… That is not right at all... Was I the one who told me that I was defeated? Was I the one who told me I couldn't do anything? Was I the one who told me to let it go because holding on would bring nothing good? No… The answer to that was no… Because the one who made all those decisions for me was this god damn world. And that is exactly why none of this is right at all. Since when did I ever listen to this world's rules? Since when did I ever follow them because I thought them to be valid or justifiable? I had never listened to this world's rules _because_ I thought they were unreasonable. I went against them with every fiber of my being and refused to back down when given a chance. It was I who took down Kayaba Akihiko in his own game, despite him being the god. I broke his world's rules, therefore breaking his game. It was I who took down Sugou Nobuyuki when he tried to conquer the virtual world with his mind control research. With the help of Kayaba, I sabotaged his plans for world domination through the AmuSphere, and permanently ruined him without a second thought.

And now, the light of my world is being taken away from me because of the decisions I have made in the past. If those decisions are the cause of what is going on right now, then it is my decision once again to choose a path to follow. If Violet is going to get taken away from me, then my realm of light is gone forever. If that's the case... then…

"In darkness, I shall live," I shouted out in a deep, resonating tone that broke through the sounds of the storm. "In darkness I shall survive. And in darkness, I shall forge on to the future ahead of me."

I quickly opened my «Inventory» and used an _Ancient Fruit_ to instantly heal my health back up to around a quarter. My health continued to go down from the blade inside of me, but I didn't care. All I needed was a quarter of my HP. I grasped the handle of the _Demon Buster_ between the palms of my two hands and started to remove the colossal blade from both the ground and my body. As I did so, I slowly stood up off the ground, using the blade itself as support. When I leaned forward to stand up straight, the blade cut into me a little bit more, but I didn't care. I moved my hands to the blade when I could no longer reach the handle and continued to push it out from my stomach. I kept doing this till the blade was no longer in the ground, allowing me to stand up straight. From there, I forced the blade out with a violent push, leaving me with less than a tenth of my HP remaining. I didn't bother getting another _Ancient Fruit_ since ten-percent was enough for me.

"Y-You still live?!" Eugene stammered, shocked at my current state.

I ignored the big hunk of armor that he was and squeezed on _Sanctus_ ' handle. I threw _Lux_ aside, not needing another blade as I only needed one. I turned to face Nagato and pointed my blade directly at him.

"I'm sick and tired of this world making my decisions for me. It has already been placing enormous obstacles for me to face head-on, yet it thinks it can also choose what path I will take. Well, I'm tired of it. The world isn't the one who makes this life mine. It is me, and me alone. You can take my blade, but I will find a stronger one to replace it. You can take my friends, but I will just take them back by force. You can even take away the one I love, but you cannot take away my right to love them. So, go on ahead, world. Give me everything you've got."

The tempest grew stronger, and the rain roared in the stygian desert plains. Violent squalls agitated my cloak to violently fly in place. Bolts of lightning rumbled the very earth beneath me and deafening those too weak to hear it. Visibility dulled as the rain continued to worsen, but that didn't stop me.

"Go on and place obstacles in front of me, but I'll be the one to decide which path to take." I shouted out in an even louder voice. "This time, however, I won't pull back. I will push forward… To the future ahead of me! This is the path I choose to take. The Bushido I choose to honor. The life I choose to live. So, if you dare try to take my freedom away from me, then I suggest you prepare yourself, for I am going to pull you away from the world in which you live in and bring you into my own!"

I forced my wings out my back using the muscles I didn't have. I took off the ground with as much violence as a lightning bolt and flew towards them with the speed of a comet. Nagato and Eugene stood in front of my path with the entirety of the Salamander army surrounding me completely, but I didn't care. I only saw what my mask could give me, and all that it could give me was what was in front of me. Only he was in front of me, and he was who I chose to go for.

The lightning rumbled. The storm roared. However, none could match the cries of the Voices. The eighty-nine from Sword Art Online, and all the others from ALfheim Online… They all shouted together as one, cheering me on to keep pushing forward. I embraced their cries and took their pain as my own. I thrusted out _Sanctus_ in front of me and pierced right through his chest. I knocked him off where he stood, and where he stood was amongst the rulers of this world. I looked down on his face and twisted the blade that was piercing through his heart. It all happened too fast for anybody to react, and now, my actions had completely altered the equilibrium of this entire world. I stared down the Salamander Lord's face as he conveyed true and absolute terror from his face. I moved my face close enough so that all he could see from my mask were the bloodthirsty eyes hiding behind them.

"May death rain upon them."

I stood back up and quickly pulled my blade out of his chest. I then proceeded to make two diagonal cuts across the man's chest before quickly grabbing him by his long, red hair. With one quick swipe of my blade, I separated his head from his body, and threw it over to Eugene so that he could admire my handiwork. The head rolled on the wet sands below Eugene's feet, and it perfectly rolled so that Mortimer's fearful face looked up at his brother. Both Mortimer's head and body then exploded into pixels. His red «Remain Light» floated beneath me, and I got notified by a screen of light, telling me that I had killed the Lord of the Salamanders. The storm raged on, but everything else was silent. Everyone was much too shocked to believe what just happened. But, when lightning once again split the sky, Eugene's voice boomed as loud as thunder.

"Brother!"

I rushed over to Eugene and punched the guy straight in the face, effectively shutting him up. Even though his body was as hard as before, I proceeded to cut him down with a single blade. Who gave a shit if he was unarmed? He had already cheated by siding with Nagato, so I'll let him have a taste of how being powerless feels like. I cut Eugene an innumerable amount of times that his body was now just one giant red glowstick. Throughout the entire occurrence, Eugene had his mouth open, speechless due to fear. His health finally dropped to the red zone, with only a sliver left. His health started going back up once again, but I finished him off with a blade thrust right into his mouth. I tilted my blade up, forcing Eugene to look up, and shoved _Sanctus_ down the Salamander's throat.

"If there's a hell in this world, I'll see you there. Till then, you and your brother can join the rest."

Eugene, just like his brother, died by my hands, and turned into pixels. The very pixels that he transformed into then became a flame identical to his brother. The two «Remain Lights» floated there, burning brightly despite the thunderstorm that covered the entire region. Yet again, there was another period of brief silence. The rage burning within me calmed down, as well as the Voices in my head. However, with the Voices gone, my ears once again suffered the agonizing wrath of the entire Salamander army. Their shouts rumbled the very earth more than the lightning bolts themselves, and they all charged at me without caring for any of their comrades who may had been too slow. They simply ran over every single person who was in front of them and only went for me. I didn't even think twice when I flew over to ViVi and Trish and grabbed the ropes that bound them together. I sheathed _Sanctus_ and took off the ground, letting my friends dangle from my left hand. I flew towards _Lux_ , dropping low enough that ViVi and Trish were now being dragged across the sands, but I didn't care. I recovered my blade and flew straight up, I went higher and higher until I was far above all the Salamanders who desperately tried to catch up but couldn't. I faced directly north and headed towards the «Dragons Valley». I then retreated to the World Tree with my friends in tow and the ire of an entire race behind my back.

"ViVi…" I muttered to him in a low voice. Despite my low tone, he heard me through the storm.

"W-What?" he asked, nervous and anxious about what I was going to say.

"Despite what I said to Nagato earlier, I hate you even more for making me choose the path I am going to take."

"A-And this path is?"

"The path of darkness… Completely absent of light."


	8. Chapter 7: The End

**Several minutes later, «Dragons Valley»**

Despite the thunder cooling down my body, I still felt major fatigue from the fight I had with Eugene. Not only that, but my adrenaline was wearing away, making ViVi and Trish feel much heavier. I had almost disconnected from the AmuSphere's safety mechanism since my heartrate was abnormally high. Luckily, I managed to calm myself down as I didn't want to leave ViVi and Trish and the mercy of the enraged Salamander army that was still chasing me. After all, I still hadn't released them from their bindings as I didn't have the time. However, because I was slowing down so much, some of the faster Salamanders were catching up with me. Both Trish and ViVi were using «Magic» they had learned during their time in the game to try and stall them, but they were running out of mana to use.

Our saving grace came in the form of another army of players though much smaller than the Salamander army that was chasing me. The army that arrived to confront the Salamanders consisted mostly of Sylphs, and Imps. There were several soldiers from the other races, but their numbers didn't come close to the Sylphs or Imps. And even though the Salamander army was much bigger, they stopped a great distance away, hesitating to chase after me now that another army had shown up. The Salamanders, however, did spread out so far that they covered nearly half the width of «Dragons Valley» with soldiers still flying above others or behind them. I panted heavily as a lone Spriggan came down to meet me at eye-level. I didn't recognize him at first with his wet hair covering his face, but I quickly realized that it was Kirito. Asuna and Leafa also came with him to meet me, but I didn't see Agil, Klein, Silica or Lisbeth around. I then remembered that Agil was busy with the bar while Klein was working overtime to get some more money to buy stuff for this girl, but I didn't know what Silica nor Lisbeth was up to.

"Onii-chan…" Kirito spoke in a worried voice, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Your guild told me what was happening. They and the Lords are waiting back in «Alne». Sakuya thought that you would at least need an escort out of here, so she gave Leafa and I temporary command of the Sylph army."

"Sakuya-chan did manage to persuade the other Lords to send their armies as well, though it was difficult considering you refused help to begin with by killing their players," Leafa sulked.

"I was stubborn," I tried explaining. "I thought that I finish this up quickly like how I usually do, but I was too stubborn…"

"Well, you're safe now Mortifer-san," Asuna smiled, trying to lighten the mood. She proceeded to fly behind me and release ViVi and Trish from their bindings, freeing them.

At the same time, the Salamander army started slowly backing away and grouping up once again. After they were greater than a hundred meters away, they all turned their backs to us and retreated back into their territory. I noticed many sighs of relief coming from many of the players, including Kirito himself, and I found myself sighing as well. I opened my menu to configure my «Inventory». I unequipped my mask and placed it back into the storage as well as my two blades. I replaced my metal armor with my much lighter old armor, so I could lighten the load. The thunderstorm continued to boom around us, flooding the once dry valley with water. I grabbed my brother's left shoulder with my left hand, squeezing it to relieve some of the stress and pain I had within me. I then flew past him and the army and made my way to «Alne», fruitlessly preparing myself for what was to come.

* * *

 **(Kirito)**

 **Almost an hour later, «Alne»**

The former capital of ALfheim Online rested on the roots of the World Tree, being drenched by the severe thunderstorm. The night lights of the city were active despite it technically being the afternoon. «Yggdrasil City» glowed bright enough to be seen through the clouds, but its light could not reach its sister city below it. The weekend city life of «Alne» was muffled due to the storm, and all I could hear now were the wings of the escort army we had for my brother.

Mortifer hadn't spoken a single word, nor had he bothered to look back at me, Leafa, Asuna, ViVi and Trish. The five of us grew more worried about him every second that passed as he seemed to go through more than just a tough battle back there. While Mortifer clearly succeeded in rescuing ViVi and Trish, they hadn't told us what really happened over there. Did Mortifer kill the Salamander Lord? Did he fight Eugene? Or did he just take ViVi and Trish back and left? The three of us had no clue. Mortifer was giving us the silent treatment, Trish was crying for some odd reason, and ViVi was too busy trying to comfort her.

"Onii-chan!" Leafa called out to me through the storm. "Check the «MMO Tomorrow» website! Now!"

Without questioning her words, Asuna and I huddled close together as I opened my menu and pulled up the Internet browsing feature of the AmuSphere. I inputted the website's URL in the search bar while we approached «Alne»'s front gate. Another group of various soldiers stood under the threshold of the city while the Lords and the «Reapers of Sorrow» stood quietly in front of them. They too had screens of light in front of them, making me think that they were checking on the «MMO Tomorrow» as well. The website page started to load in as we made our descent towards them. When the page fully loaded, all that I could see now was a newspaper style front page depicting a picture of Mortifer, Eugene and Mortimer all together. The headline unmistakably read:

"The Reaper of Sorrow assassinates Mortimer, Lord of the Salamanders and narrowly wins in a duel against General Eugene!"

Mortifer violently touched down to the ground, making a large booming sound as he landed. He quickly got up from his knees and stormed his way over to the Lords and his guild. ViVi and Trish touched down behind Mortifer, and the dark-skinned girl quickly ran past Mortifer and into the arms of her guildmates. ViVi started running towards his guild as well before slowing down to a stop. He then dropped his head and remained put. Aqua seemingly crushed Trish, but the latter didn't seem to care. In fact, Aqua started to cry while Trish continued to cry some more, making me assume that there was something going on that I didn't know about. Paradox and Zed went to comfort Aqua and Trish while Konno went to see what was going on with ViVi. Only Rizer, Cayonz and Violet remained standing between Mortifer and the Lords of Alfheim. Before Mortifer could take two more steps, a bright flash of light appeared in front of him. The occurrence caused many of the nearby soldiers to draw their weapons, but they calmed down when they realized it was a GM who was appearing in. The GM, however, was Nagato: Violet's in-game bodyguard.

Nagato confronted Mortifer and the two of them began conversing so quietly that I couldn't hear. The two apparent enemies began to talk rather lightly towards each other as neither expressed hatred or anger. However, the quick thought was ruined when Mortifer forcefully pushed himself past Nagato, fearlessly pushing the GM to the side, causing many eyebrows to raise. Mortifer then approached Violet, who opened her mouth to speak but could not voice any words out of her mouth. The most shocking thing, however, was what happened right after. The moment Mortifer was within arm's reach of Violet, my brother stuck his right hand out, placing it on Violet's shoulder and quickly pushed his girlfriend aside with enough force to knock her down on her butt.

Everyone within the Reapers of Sorrow expressed absolute shock, as it was the first time Mortifer had ever done something like that to Violet in a long time. Asuna, Leafa and I also expressed as our shock, and I suddenly remembered of the time Mortifer had almost killed Violet during his execution day when he was consumed by his «Darkness Blade»'s ability. And even though I expected the man to act since he was so strict before, Nagato made no move against Mortifer and simply watched him with emotionless eyes as he approached the Lords. Only Sakuya and Alicia reacted to what had happened as only they knew the relationship between Mortifer and Violet. The two Lords also appeared to be surprised by his actions, but nobody could come close to the disbelief that was shown on Violet's face.

"Oi, oi, oi! Mortifer!" Zed shouted out in rage. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"M-Mortifer…" Violet hesitantly called out to her boyfriend.

My brother completely ignored Zed and Violet and stopped right in front of the Lords. He opened his menu and fiddled with the options before he pulled out a screen of light. The screen clearly showed what I was saw in the front page of the «MMO Tomorrow». It was the article that informed everyone in the VRMMORPG world of the soon-to-be legendary event that occurred in ALfheim Online. My brother's successful assassination of Mortimer and his victory against Eugene.

"Even though I said that I wouldn't take the mission, I still did it," Mortifer grunted. "That's because you guys are responsible for my friends capture."

"W-What do you mean?" Sakuya asked.

"You guys had an information leak, so the Salamanders knew I was coming. They used my friends as a counter-offer for me to kill you guys."

"A leak?! Whose race? Did he tell you?" Silver of the Leprechauns questioned.

"You seriously think they're gonna tell me which race has a mole, fatty?!" Mortifer snapped, causing many Leprechaun soldiers to draw their weapons and fly closer to them. "For all I know, it could very well be your race considering how loud and obnoxious you are. This whole thing happened because of you guys being too trustful of your subordinates. So, you guys are going to let me keep the two billion I got from the Salamanders and pay me the one billion you were going to give me."

"A-Again Mortifer-san…" Alicia began. "You're being quite unreasonable here…"

In an instant, Mortifer drew out Lux with his right hand and made three quick slashes across Sakuya's chest, dropping her health severely and damaging her robes. He then placed the tip of his sword against Sakuya's neck and forced it up on her chin. She was forced to look up by the sword, and the fear depicted on her face caused the other Lords to back away. The Sylph warriors immediately charged towards Mortifer but was quickly stopped by Sakuya. Wanting to resolve the current situation, Leafa and I approached our brother, and put our hands on his shoulder.

"Onii-chan… Please, calm down," Leafa begged.

"Mortifer, put the blade down and let's resolve this peacefully." I pleaded him.

"You're going to give me the billion Yrd now, or I'll just kill you right here along with however many more Lords I can get," Mortifer threatened, ignoring us completely. "So, how about we be smart, and just pay up. I'm sure that killing all of you will be more profitable than splitting a billion, but I'm a generous guy. Give me the billion now, or all the Lords of ALfheim Online will die here."

"Everyone," Sakuya nervously spoke. "Please, give your share of the billion we agreed on."

The other Lords of Alfheim hesitated but eventually surrendered. All eight Lords summoned large bags of Yrd in unison and threw it all on the ground towards Mortifer. My brother sheathed his sword and quickly claimed all the sacks of Yrd on the ground before the Lords could take it back. He opened his «Inventory» to check on his current balance and appeared satisfied with it. He closed out of his menu and turned his back towards the Lords.

"If you still require assistance against the Salamanders, then I suggest you go look for someone else. Because of this, I assume that none of the other Lords wants to work with me. Regardless of them wanting to work with me or not, this was never my problem to deal with. Leave now," Mortifer commanded.

I saw many of the soldiers around us clench their fists, angered by my brother's words. The Lords, however, obeyed despite their supposed higher ranking within the game's social hierarchy. I believed they realized the fact that my brother didn't care about the social structure of the world and was not afraid of breaking it. The Lords summoned their wings and motioned for their respective armies to follow them. Sakuya, Alicia, Beatrice and their armies all headed west towards the «Butterfly Valley». Gilder, Silver, Drake, Iris, Ferrin and their armies headed east towards the «Rainbow Valley». We all watched them fly away and disappear behind the endless rain pouring down upon us.

I looked back at Mortifer, who looked at all of us with emotionless eyes. He scanned all our faces, not reacting to the different facial expressions he saw. He turned his gaze towards Violet, who was still looking at him in shock and confusion. My brother made no effort to comfort or apologize to her, and instead, approached Nagato without fear. He grabbed the GM by his neck collar and held the old man up to the sky. I expected Mortifer to get blasted away, but Nagato remained calm and instead appeared curious.

"Why did you lie to them?" the GM asked. "I already told you that I was the one who leaked the information of their plans. For a man who hates me so much, you are quite nice for protecting my reputation as a GM."

His words caught the gazes of everyone except for ViVi and Trish, who probably knew about this already. If the GM really did intervene with the events occurring within the game and committed an invasion of privacy against players who had done nothing wrong, then the reputation of ALfheim Online would drop drastically. It would also explain why Mortifer seemed more out of it than usual. Not to mention, he seemed to have struggled against Eugene as he took much longer than usual to finish a fight.

"You really think I care about that anymore?" Mortifer weirdly laughed out as if he were holding back his emotions. "You already heard me say it before, but I'm going to say it again. If you try to take my freedom away from me this time, I'll make you pay. You've already taken enough of it, and I can't deal with you taking anymore."

"Unfortunately for you, I cannot stop and will only escalate this situation to greater levels than before. I'm sure you already know of the last resort Ai-sama's parents have prepared for you, Mortifer-kun…"

"You guys are willing to go this far, just to separate me from her?" Mortifer croaked, finally showing a hint of despair on his face. "I've already tried so hard to forget what I had done in the past, and I'm trying to make myself a better person because of it. Why do you guys insist on making me suffer through it again? What do I have to do to make you stop?!"

"You already know the answer to that, Mortifer-kun," Nagato calmly stated. "You must break up with Ai-sama and promise to never see her again."

Mortifer's expression was now filled with despair. Even so, he didn't shed a single tear. Instead, the person who was shedding tears was Violet. Her tears were a mix from Mortifer hitting her, and Nagato's harsh words. Mortifer put down Nagato, who still held a blank expression on his face. My brother looked away from the GM and took a few steps back before turning his back to him. After moments of silence and despair, ViVi nervously walked up to the Gamemaster.

"N-Nagato-san…" ViVi stuttered out, attempting to reason. "Please… I'm sure that everyone here can get why Ai-chan's parents don't want her to be with Katsumoto-san. I get it… My friends get it… And, I'm pretty sure even Ai-chan gets it. But, I beg of you to please stop and try to understand why we've protected him all this time. Why we chose to forgive him… Because of him, we wouldn't be—"

ViVi was cut off when a sudden bright purple streak smacked him right on the face, sending the small Sylph flying a meter or two. ViVi landed on his face and slid half a meter or so on the rough stone paths leading to «Alne». The startling actions of Violet caused all mouths to drop open, including Nagato himself. The people who were most shocked were Mortifer and Asuna. Mortifer, like everyone else including myself, had never seen Violet so enraged before. Asuna couldn't handle the fact that her best friend was hurting so much and hid behind me. Despite the clear anger and frustration on her face, Violet continued to cry non-stop.

"A-Ai-chan?" ViVi stammered, shocked from her cousin's fit of rage.

"When will you ever learn!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "When will you learn that running your stupid mouth isn't going to do anything helpful?! I've already told them to overlook what he's done in the past and just focus on what he was now! You really think they're going to change their mind when you of all people talk?! I'm surprised my brother hasn't even told you that he doesn't want to talk to you anymore!"

"W-What? What are you talking about? Why would he—"

"There you go again…" she sobbed, shaking her head furiously. "Even though we're in this stupid situation, all you care about now is your friendship between you and Hitori. He doesn't like you! He never did! And to think that I was the one who told him to give you a chance… The two of us were only friends with you because we pitied you. You had no friends for the longest time because you were too shy to meet others. Then suddenly, you kept on talking, and talking, and talking, wanting to gain friends so bad like you were having a tantrum. I didn't realize how annoying you were until a year before SAO, and I wish I never befriended you in the first place!"

"Then what about everyone else?!" ViVi desperately asked, turning around to face everyone.

Amongst his guildmates, none of them made a sound to tell him what they thought. Instead, they harshly expressed it by turning their heads away from him while remaining silent. It was clear that his guildmates agreed with Violet's words. If his guildmates agreed, then there was no doubting Mortifer's agreement. As for me, Asuna and Leafa, we were only friends with him because of the fact he was Violet's cousin. I knew for sure Asuna and Leafa found him annoying at times. I was probably the only person there who could tolerate him and be neutral, but I didn't know for sure.

"You see Vitushi… Nobody wants you," Violet grimly stated, glaring at her cousin while continuing to cry tears. "We don't want you in the real world, or even here in this game. You were always the weakest link, even in SAO. Even though Aqua and Trish were our runners, they were more useful than you despite being a damage dealer. You did little to no damage to any of the boss fights we participated in while we were in the Front Lines. You still haven't «Completed» your «Polearm» even though you had been training it for more than two years now. Why can't you be good in anything other than being loud and telling secrets! I'm surprised you didn't even tell anybody of Mortifer's identity when we were still in SAO! The biggest secret that we were supposed to keep, and you managed to do it. Yet here we are, in this stupid situation, all because you couldn't keep anymore secrets, no matter how important they were! This is all your fault!"

Violet ran towards ViVi with her fist raised high. ViVi, frightened to his wits end, desperately tried to crawl away but his small, weak arms could not gain any distance compared to the swift Violet. Knowing what was coming, he raised his arms to protect his face. However, before Violet's fist could even come close to his face, Mortifer quickly stopped her advancement by grabbing her arm. Violet stood there shocked much like everyone else. Her stunned expression disappeared quickly when Mortifer tightened his grip on her arm, causing Violet great discomfort but no pain due to the «Pain Absorber».

"Mortifer…" Violet called out.

"I'm sorry Violet… I really am," Mortifer spoke in a low voice. "It really pains me to say this, but given what has happened recently, what is happening right now, and what is going to happen in the future, the two of us must part ways from each other."

I felt Asuna suddenly twitch behind me, violently reacting to Mortifer's unbelievable words. Leafa yelped loudly next to us, quickly covering her mouth with both hands before welling up tears in her eyes. ViVi did the same thing with just one hand, but I could tell right away that he was crying more than my cousin. Other than Trish, who was crying into Aqua's shoulder, the rest of the Reapers of Sorrow had their mouths wide open in shock. I too couldn't help but look at my brother dumbfoundedly. The words that came out from his mouth just now were words that I thought I would never hear him say to Violet. Even if they weren't exactly the words I imagined, they meant the same thing, and that was what mattered at that moment.

"W-What do you mean?" Violet sobbed, her voice failing near the end. "Didn't you tell me that you can't live without me?! Don't you love me?!"

"I do love you!" Mortifer shouted back. "I always have, and always will love you! But… But… It's because of this love I have for you that I must leave you. I know it doesn't make much sense but let me explain. Your family... They're willing to turn me into the police just so that we can be separated from each other. If I get turned in, there is no doubt in my mind that I will be executed for what I've done. Your family's company has all the evidence they need for it, and the «SAO Case Victims Rescue» will rat me out if the information leaks. The players of the «SAO Survivors School» will also testify against me. If I die, then there's no way for me to love you anymore. I can't love you if I'm dead, and you can't love me back either. If I die, then that's it, which is why I have to leave you."

"No, no, no! That's not fair! I need you, and you need me! I don't want to break up with you!"

"Neither of us wants to break up with each other Violet… But right now, we have to."

"Then give me another reason! Otherwise, we're not breaking up! I don't care if I'm being selfish! You have always been selfish, so let me do the same!"

With every other word that Violet spoke, she repeatedly hit Mortifer's shoulder with the bottom side of her fist. She continued crying tears, looking at the ground while doing so. Despite how hurt someone like Mortifer would be right now, my brother shed no tears and didn't even show the slightest hint of crying. The FullDive mechanic of the AmuSphere is supposed to prevent a person from holding back emotions like sadness and forced players to cry if they felt like doing so, yet my brother only expressed emotional pain on his face without the tears. Was he not sad that he was leaving Violet? It couldn't be, right?

"Another reason…" Mortifer muttered through the rain. He stopped Violet from hitting him by grabbing her free arm, locking both in place. He slid his hands down her arm before stopping to hold her hands. He rubbed her fingers with his thumb and looked down at them with sadness in his eyes. "You're simply too far away…"

My brother let go of Violet's hands, leaving them to hang freely in the damp air. Violet's shoulders slumped downward at Mortifer's new words, clearly even more hurt by them. She fell to her knees, getting dirtied by the murky puddles she landed on. Mortifer took two steps away from Violet and began to look at the palms of his hands.

"I didn't notice it during our time in SAO because I had never met you in the real world. But in these past two months alone, the pieces were finally put together for me. Even though we're so close to each other in-game, we are light years away from each other in the real world. Not only does your family not like me, but I'm afraid that I won't even be able to care for you in the real world. I've never gotten a job, gone to college, or done anything of use to anybody except for myself. I may be strong in-game, but that's all I really have. Strength in a fake world that we don't live in."

"I don't care if you're weak in the real world!" Violet cried as she stood back up on her feet. "I don't care about being privileged, or rich, or having a nice home! I just want to live in this world with you by my side! Why do you think I'm too far away for you to do that?! I'm here in Japan, and I'm here right next to you in this world! I'll always be by your side from now on, no matter what happens, and I promise that!"

"And if I die, what would you do then?"

"I'll die along with you!"

"What if I don't want that?"

"I don't care anymore if you don't want me to die!" Violet screamed at the top of her lungs. With her volume, I didn't doubt that other players overheard, but I didn't think anybody cared if they overheard. "Like I said, if you can be selfish, then let me be selfish as well! From now on, I will, for all eternity, always be right next to you! If I lose you, then there wouldn't be a reason for me to live!"

"Don't say that…" Mortifer croaked out. His voice was weak, and he appeared to be on the verge of crying, but he still showed no tears. "Please don't say that… You can and will live without me Violet. It would be the best for you, and that's all I ever wanted. You may not be happy with it, but it's what you need."

"Of course I'm not happy with it! I'm not happy because it isn't what I need at all! I need you to live in this world, and you need me to live in thi—"

The boundaries of both my imagination and this world broke when lightning struck down upon the arched gate of «Alne». The bright flash blinded my sight as well as everyone else's. The following clap of thunder exploded my ear drums, making them ring so loudly that I thought I went deaf. The lightning bolt itself was so powerful that it made the ground quake, causing everyone to lose their balance. I lost myself and fell in a world of pure white, unable to see or hear anything. I could only feel the rain drops falling on my head, smell the musty city life of «Alne» and taste the stale, cold water that seeped into my mouth. But when I finally hit the rough, stone pavement of the road, the white world I was seeing dissolved back into a grey obscurity.

The droplets of rain fell on my face and I instinctively closed my eyes to protect them. I quickly rolled over so that my back was now against the rain. I fruitlessly wiped the water from my face with my already wet glove, simply spreading it out so that it covered an even bigger area. Realizing my futile efforts, I got back up on my feet and turned to face Mortifer and Violet once again. However, I wish I didn't as my mind couldn't comprehend what it was seeing, and I believed that it was the same for everyone else. I instantly flashbacked to the time of Mortifer's execution, right after he had gone berserk. I remembered Violet getting whipped by the very chains that bound Mortifer. It was the first time I had seen him attack her, even if it wasn't on purpose. Yet what I was seeing in front of me appeared to be the second time he was doing so, and on purpose.

My brother had drawn Lux from its scabbard, and he had thrusted the white sword all the way through Violet's stomach, making it protrude out from the other side. Violet's face was filled with nothing but shock, and the same went for Nagato, who surprisingly did nothing to stop my brother. Instead, he continued to stare at the two with his mouth open. Everyone around had the same reaction: Asuna, Leafa, Rizer, Paradox, Cayonz, Zed, Konno, ViVi, Aqua and Trish. Nobody expressed any other emotion other than complete shock, except for my brother. He was the only one who looked differently. He didn't convey any sort of sadness, shock or fear. Instead he showed the same face I had seen so many times before in the past that I was working on forgetting. The past where Mortifer was still an emotionless, sadistic monster. He tilted his head and stared at his own blade as if showing amusement. He twisted Lux while it was still inside of Violet, giving her enormous discomfort. He slowly wrenched the blade out of his girlfriend and stared at her wound for several more seconds. Violet was left speechless and didn't say a single word. She just continued to stare at Mortifer in shock, but now, fear was slowly growing in her face.

"Both of us are quite stubborn Violet," My brother began. "You weren't really like that before I disappeared that night, so I guess it's my fault you're like this. I want to stay with you. I truly do… But, you're wrong about that… You're wrong about me needing you to live my life."

A single tear formed in Violet's right eye, and it fell to the underside of her chin. The tear fell and camouflaged itself on the hundreds of raindrops around it before hitting the ground beneath. Violet's head fell downward to examine her new wound, but Mortifer used his left hand to push her head back up. My brother made her stare at his cold-blooded face for a few more seconds before his empty eyes started to burn with anger, and his straight eyebrows angled downwards into a scowl.

"I never needed you for me to live my life. I never needed friends nor family. I never needed anybody. You and everyone else were just tools I used to get both love and happiness. But now, you all are broken, and broken tools should be thrown away."

For an instant, Mortifer's face flinched as if he were in pain, but it disappeared when he quickly spun around with Lux raised high. His cloak thrashed due to his sudden movements, impeding my ability to see what had transpired. However, I didn't need to see exactly what happened to know. In fact, I was glad I didn't see what truly happened, as the sight of Violet's decapitated head flying in the air was enough to make my stomach churn violently. The head flew straight up, rotating slightly as it slowed down its ascent. Before it could fall, Mortifer threw Lux so that the sword pierced the side of the virtual head, pinning it at the crown of the arched gate. Violet's virtual body fell flat on the ground in front of Mortifer before it quickly burst into flames. Her head remained on top of the gate for a longer period, but it too disappeared. Lux remained stuck on the wooden portion of the gate that it was embedded into, left all alone.

"Have the blade as a keepsake because I'm never returning to this game ever again. I hand leadership of the Reapers of Sorrow to you, Violet. Sayonara"

Mortifer violently took off the ground with his purple wings, pushing away nearby rain droplets with the wave of high air pressure he created. My brother ascended around twenty meters or so before slowing down to a stop. He then thrust himself forward, heading east across the central plains. His figure grew smaller and smaller until it became invisible to our eyes. We stood there, stunned, confused and scared of the events that occurred. To a normal person, it would just seem like a normal break up. But Mortifer and Violet's relationship transcended that of girlfriend-boyfriend and went into the realms of basically husband and wife. They may not had been of average marriage age, but their relationship was as close to one as you could get, if not more. The first to break away from the trance was Asuna, who immediately rushed over to Violet's «Remain Light». She took out the expensive resurrection item to restore Violet's status. Her purple flame began morphing into her Imp avatar, but the magical flaming silhouette suddenly turned into mush, melting and falling to the ground like lava. The liquid flames then disappeared into pixels, mimicking the death animation of perishable objects and NPCs. The weird occurrence caused Asuna and a few others to panic, but Nagato held his hand up and motioned for them to calm down.

"Do not worry. Ai-chan disconnected from the game before you could revive her. For some reason the disconnection symbol didn't appear since it doesn't usually appear for someone who was already dead. I will go back to the real world to tend to her now. I'll say my farewells now."

Nagato proceeded to commence a deep bow despite his higher authority both in the virtual and real world. He swiftly opened his insanely large administrator menu and logged out of the game. He too disappeared in a quick flash of pixels, leaving us all alone. Asuna, Leafa and I stood silent along with the rest of the Reapers of Sorrow. The first person to do anything was ViVi, who was still on the ground from earlier. The brown-haired boy buried his face in his arms and legs and cried into them, not even trying to hold back. Konno once again headed over to comfort him, kneeling to match the boy's level. Rizer took a seat at a nearby rock, and Cayonz joined him soon after. The two of them also had their faces buried in their hands. Rizer appeared frustrated while Cayonz oozed out sympathy. Trish stopped crying but she and Aqua were now sitting in the muddy grass, not caring for their now dirtied appearance. The rest of us stood still, unable to do anything else.

The tempest began to magically fade away, and the grey clouds slowly disappeared, leaving behind a clear sky. Even though the sunlight was directly hitting me, I felt nothing but an eerie coldness. Next to me, Leafa had her hands in a prayer-like fashion, covering her nose and mouth. Tears slowly streamed down her closed eyes as she silently cried. To my other side, Asuna was hugging my arm tightly, scared and crying. I shifted our position, and I enveloped her in the warmest hug I could possible give her. Even so, I still felt a coldness in my heart. I looked towards the sun which was slowly setting in the west. The sky was beginning to turn orange, but the sun wasn't below the mountains yet. It's radiant light, however, was slowly fading away.

"Have I always been this much of a douche?" ViVi sniveled. "Was I always this stupid to not realize my uselessness and egoism?"

"I think you mean egotism, but I guess egoism fits in as well," Konno responded, veering off to a different direction but quickly going back. "My question is, do you want the truth? Or at least my truth?"

"Since I've found out that everything has been a lie, then yes, I want to at least hear a single truth, even if it's just yours…"

"You are annoying, and you never shut your mouth even when you are told to. You want to be at the center of attention even if it isn't the appropriate time to be at the center. You are both dense and gullible. Amongst the guild, you are our weakest damage dealer, and the person who's done the least in terms of battles and missions. And for all I know, the only reason Zed accepted you was because I pitied you enough to persuade him to allow you to join us."

ViVi, who was already curled up into a ball, shrunk down even more and began shivering as if he were cold. He buried his head in his arms, so we could only see his brown hair.

"I can say one thing though," Zed began. "While Violet told the truth, the way she delivered it was too harsh. I can't really blame her though. Given the situation she's in, and you being the cause of it, it's kinda' hard not to get mad. But damn… What the hell's up with your brother Kirito?"

"I… I don't know…" I stuttered, still baffled. "All I can say is that my brother seems to have gone through a relapse."

"A relapse?" Paradox questioned.

"For one, the Mortifer that I met at the end of the game would never do that to Violet, unless he was brainwashed like his «Darkness Blade»'s ability," I started explaining. "I say relapse because his actions just now reminded me of what he was like back then. He's still rather merciless and emotionless now, but that's towards people he finds annoying. Back then, that same brutality was directed towards everyone. I mean, he beat up our grandfather one time for arguing against my brother dropping kendo and karate."

"Your brother did karate too?" Zed exclaimed, bewildered at Mortifer's long combat experience.

"Kyokushin to be exact… Why does this matter?"

"Ah… Sorry… I let myself get carried away," Zed apologized. "But jeez, his own grandfather? Did he get hospitalized?"

"My brother didn't go that far since my grandfather was still sick at the time. He just put our grandfather into an armlock and threatened him to back down. Our mom was so close to putting him into foster care and waiving her parental rights. It may have been in-game, but Mortifer basically did the same thing to Violet just now."

"Yeah… And to even imagine the mental damage it caused Violet-chan…"

"Both of their minds are probably about to break apart, but I'm really concerned for your brother, Kirito, Leafa," Rizer finally spoke up. "Not trying to disparage Violet's pain, but Mortifer has definitely suffered through more. What's he doing now?"

"Katsu-nii went offline," Leafa pointed out, showing her friends list to me. "I'm going to go back to the other side and check on him."

"Yeah, do that…"

"Eh, someone watch my body please."

Leafa ran over to a large rock sitting next to the road. She sat down and leaned her back against its rough, grey surface. She logged out of the game and her avatar's body went slump as if she were asleep. I looked towards the east, where the sky was turning to a dark blue. Mortifer was heading towards that direction before he left. I didn't know why at first, but I soon remembered the project he was working on over at the Gnome's territory. Yeah, he had to have gone there. There was no other reason for him to head anywhere else, unless he had some secret reason that I didn't know about.

We sat there for a minute or two before my sister came back online. She seemed a bit angry and hurt, as if she were annoyed with something. She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. She took a long breath before speaking out her thoughts and worries.

"Katsu-nii locked his door, so I opened it with the keys to his room. But it seems that he has something really big behind the door since I can't even budge it. I tried calling out to him, but he wouldn't say anything. He's flipped something big to block window view and sounded like he was throwing around a bunch of stuff, making a huge mess. I hope to god he hasn't damaged anything or broken his computer…"

"What to do we now?" Paradox asked.

I thought about our next move, and checked on my friend's list once again, wondering if Mortifer was back online When I saw the grey circle by his name indicating his offline status, I sighed out and looked back towards the west.

"We can head over to the site of the project he was working on. I think he was heading there as soon as he left," I informed them. "He's not online right now, but we can try to meet him there."

"It'll take an hour or two to get there. You guys up for the flight?" Leafa asked everyone.

"I'm down, but I'm going to eat dinner soon," Zed said, looking at his menu's clock. His eyes widened instantly as soon as he read the time, and a hint of panic formed on his face. "By soon I mean right now. I'm running late for dinner. Plus, this whole thing has gotten me stressed. I need a break right now. See you guys later, I guess."

Zed quickly logged off without saying goodbye, but nobody argued. In fact, it seemed that everyone wanted a break from the game, considering what had happened. We all looked at each other and silently agreed to follow Zed's footsteps. The only one who didn't react was Rizer, who remained sitting on the rock with his face hidden away from everyone. Konno tried to approach him, but I stopped him in his tracks.

"Konno," I called out. He turned his head to me and I simply shook my head, signaling him to not bother the man. Konno obliged, and he too opened his menu to log out.

Konno was followed by Paradox, Cayonz and ViVi, who logged out with haste. Aqua said a few words to Trish before both of them logged out simultaneously. All that was left now was me, Asuna, Leafa and Rizer. Excluding Rizer, the three of us were about to open our own menus to log out, only to be stopped by the sudden voice of the man.

"I always thought the two of them would marry each other," Rizer spoke. He got up from the rock and summoned his wings. He hovered over to the gate and wrenched Lux out of the wooden segment of the gate. "When Mortifer came back to us after being in Laughing Coffin, the two of them looked so happy. Together, they enjoyed life's thrills and suffered through life's hardships. When I saw them leave our little island home in the 24th Floor for their honeymoon, I thought in my head that they were meant to be together. I thought that they had found their true love within each other. Violet accepted Mortifer's sins, and he accepted her weaknesses and her willingness to love him. Yet, here I am wondering how it went so wrong."

"You really think they were true love?" Asuna timidly asked, saddened at Rizer's unusually meaningful words.

"I didn't believe in true love before. It's not because I have been dumped or anything. I never had a girlfriend or someone who was as important to me as Violet is to Mortifer. I just thought there was no way two couples could be so perfect for each other that they never fought or disagreed with anything. They both liked the same thing. Hated the same thing. But, after seeing them together, and partly you and Kirito, I realized that true love wasn't like that. In my eyes, it's when both partners fully accept their life partner for the person he or she is, was and will be. It'll probably change if I meet someone I find special to me, but that's what I've gotten from the two of them. I may not have been there at the beginning of their story, but I was damn close to it. To see how far they've come, and for it all to just fall apart… I can't even imagine what's going on through either of their minds right now, and if your brother really meant those words he told Violet."

"The only way to find out is to see him for ourselves," I grimly stated. I summoned my own wings and hovered over to his side. I patted him on the back and tried to give him a smile. "Come on now big guy. How about we all get some fresh air before heading over to my brother?"

"Yeah… Sure…"

* * *

 **A few hours later, Night, «The Misty Valley»**

Leafa and I tried calling out to Mortifer for dinner earlier, but we obtained no response from him. The two of us tried to push open his door, but the obstruction behind it was too heavy for even both of us to push aside. Because of that, only the two of us ate dinner, and we did so in silence. Despite making my favorite teriyaki chicken burgers, they didn't taste as good as usual. Even Leafa had trouble as neither of us finished our meals despite having not eaten for hours prior. If we were already affected this much by the situation in such a short amount of time, I couldn't even imagine how much it would affect us later down the line.

Now, we were currently heading to the site of Mortifer's project. Leafa and I knew of its general location, but we waited for Rizer and Cayonz to get back as they knew of its exact location. The two of them took longer than the rest for reasons unbeknownst to us, but we didn't bother asking. Given its name, I expected to see as much as a normal foggy day or even less. That wasn't the case as we could only see as much as a meter or so in front of us. We were forced to hold on to each other to not get lost. However, even with them guiding us, we still managed to get lost in the unbelievably thick fog of the «Misty Valley». Apparently, the landmarks they used to easily traverse the valley had been displaced, some even destroyed. I suspected it was my brother's doing, but we didn't even know if he was here. All we knew is that he was currently online.

"I think we're getting close…" I heard Rizer's voice call out from the front. I couldn't see the man as he was seven persons away from me. Between the two of us was the rest of the Reapers of Sorrow, while Asuna and Leafa were behind me. "Hover back down, now."

As commanded, eleven of us made a descent towards the ground which was much closer than I thought. Leafa and a few others stumbled due to moving too fast, causing our chain to break. Leafa recovered, and the others did as well as Konno, who was in front of me, nodded his head to inform us. We slowly walked forward, still holding hands. We appeared to be following some stone path, but the stones were sparsely placed, allowing grass to grow in between them. I believed we traversed in the fog for a solid minute before I started to notice the fog getting much lighter.

"Hey, I can see better now!" Zed exclaimed up ahead, now partially visible.

"We're almost there," Rizer shouted out from the front, though still not that visible. "Typically, we'd be able to see the lights of the entrance by now, but I see nothing up ahead. Mortifer must've taken them down."

"Well, at least we know that he's here," Paradox sighed in relief.

"We don't know if he's really here or not," I told her from the back. "But, the chances that he is here is much higher now."

"Ah! We're here!" Rizer shouted in glee. "As expected, he did remove the—"

Rizer's words were cut off for some unknown reason. I expected someone to ask him what was wrong, yet nothing came out. We instead took several more steps until we were all out of the fog. In front of us was a large natural gorge. Flowers of different varieties were placed at the bottom, and I could see vines reaching down from the top. Also on the top were stone archways evenly distanced from each other, However, the first one right above the opening was broken in the middle. Its missing part had fallen down to the bottom of the gorge, partially destroying the beauty of a skillfully made stone-paved road. The fallen piece uprooted nearby stones and even the ground itself, making an ugly spot in the middle of a breathtaking canyon.

"Did you guys not support this enough?" Asuna asked them.

"I built these archways weeks ago," Cayonz quickly affirmed as if offended. His reaction didn't surprise me as he was the mason of the guild after all. "I used the exact same techniques and materials, so there's no way only one of them fell. Plus, the piece didn't fall exactly below the archway. Look, its several meters off. The shape of it also doesn't call for it to roll."

As the man said, the fallen archway did indeed land far away from its original location. It was as if something had pushed it as it broke off the archway. Typically, player homes and generated instances counted as «Immortal Objects», but player-constructed homes and some natural foliage and formations were destroyable. Even so, a solid stone archway made by a skilled mason shouldn't be capable of being destroyed so easily.

"It had to be Mortifer's doing," Cayonz determined. "But, I don't think that even the Buster Sword could break the archway to such an extent…"

"I-If he had a blunt weapon like a hammer or even my quarterstaff, I'm pretty sure he'd be able to do it," ViVi chimed in. The boy was silent the entire time, scared of talking. Even now, he was nervously shaking. "He may not have any blunt weapon «Skills», but he can still use the basic «Sword Skills» to do massive damage given his high STR stat."

"ViVi-kun is right," Trish spoke up, walking over to the fallen arch. She crouched down and examined a certain spot on the arch where numerous cracks originated from. "This spot here is where Mortifer-san likely hit the archway to fully break it off. The sides have similar spots on the top, so he didn't do it all in one hit. He probably weakened its support then knocked it off. But, why did he do this?"

"Most likely to let out his anger. Considering what had happened, I'm surprised he didn't break all of these archways," Zed scoffed.

"Anger…" Rizer murmured quietly. He had one of his arms across his chest while the other held up his chin. The man appeared to be thinking until his eyes quickly widened as if realizing something important or crucial. "Shit! How much of it did he destroy!"

Without saying even another word, Rizer sprinted ahead of us, quickly followed by Cayonz, who also appeared to be very anxious. Seeing nothing else to do, we all followed the two of them down the canyon pass. Despite our hastiness, we cautiously took our steps as the stone road was still wet from the thunderstorm from earlier. With almost no earth to seep into, puddles covered the smooth beige stones. They reflected what little moonlight reached them, giving us a distorted and upside-down view of our surroundings. We occasionally ran into some low-hanging vines that grew both on the various archways and the sides of the cliff. We ran down the path for almost a minute before we came upon a surreal landscape, the likes of which I had never seen before.

The hidden gorge revealed to us a pasture confined within its vast earthen walls. The blades of grass which grew up to my thighs brushed against everyone's legs, occasionally tickling us due to how incredible soft and smooth they were. The flat plain didn't cover the entire valley, as it was later cut off by a river which separated it from a large hill. Sparsely dotting the field were small saplings whose roots protruded through the soft ground. There was a single tree of gargantuan size that towered above its younger siblings. It stood in the middle of the valley, with roots so big it could very well be used as a home. Its vivid pink leaves evoked memories of cherry blossoms during the spring season while its drooping branches spawned images of wisterias. The grandeur of the tree silenced our group as we could not help but admire its beauty.

Except for Rizer and Cayonz, who rushed on ahead past the tree, we slowly approached it, captivated by its appearance. I traversed off the road and into a small grassy circular area. The road itself diverged into two separate paths which wove around the tree before converging once again to make one single path. I rubbed my hand against its enormous roots and noticed the several cuts that were embedded into them. I traced the cuts along the roots until I reached its main trunk. It was there I found Mortifer's sword _Sanctus_ stuck deep inside the tree's wooden body. Scorch marks surrounded a small area next to the sword, making me assume my brother had used a fire-elemental «Sword Skill» on the tree. Even if his intentions were to destroy the tree, the desecrated surface was much too small to sabotage the pink tree's charm.

"No fucking way…" Zed's voice shuddered to my right.

I gazed at his face, seeing his eyes glisten in the moonlight as he marveled at a concealed sight which I could not see. I stepped out of the tree's shade and went back on the stone path around it. I joined everyone as we all slowly and cautiously walked towards the extravagant project my brother, Rizer and Cayonz had been working on for the past few months. Despite its size, it managed to hide behind the tree's enormous canopy, invisible to our eyes back at the entrance. It stood there—past the green fields of the valley, across the sparkling blue river—atop the monumental mound that covered much of the gorge.

The forsaken ruins of a once majestic castle withered away before our eyes. Countless hordes of rubble could be found near the bottom of the walls or even down in the rivers below it. Cavities in the walls exposed the castle's interior, which also seemed to be as badly broken as its exterior. The front bastion above the gate had been destroyed completely, and its broken pieces had fallen down next to the drawbridge connecting the mound to the rest of the plains. One of the four towers in the corners of the fortress toppled over the rooftop, breaking into hundreds of pieces. The entryway itself was terribly damaged as one of the two wooden doors had been unhinged, causing it to collapse flat. The other half of the door was missing an entire chunk as if some monster had bitten off it. I could see a bright light emanating from within the castle, and flames suddenly ignited within the main hallway.

Creeping from the once dark interior of the castle came the radiant flow of molten rock. It burned the wooden doors, spreading the inferno even further and sending clouds of smoke into the sky. The lava flow slithered past the doors, squirming into the small cracks in the stone path before it began to travel downhill towards the bridge. Despite seeing their own creation being destroyed in front of their own eyes, Rizer and Cayonz did nothing to stop the lava from continuing its fiery rampage. It was most fortunate that it happened to stop just before it fell into the river or got close enough to ignite the wooden platform of the drawbridge. Even so, hell proceeded to wreak havoc within the castle. The heat of the flames crippled the mortar of Cayonz's masonry, causing more walls to collapse. Seeing the flames consuming the castle seemingly scorched my spirit, as I began to cry from the despair the sight brought before me.

"It's too late to save it now…" Rizer croaked out. His spirit was also weakened from the sight of his work being destroyed. "The castle that we had been building for three months now gone in a single night. We still had so much left to do—"

The man stopped his sentence short as he rubbed his right cheek with his right hand. He looked upon his palm as if expecting something to be there. Rizer then turned his gaze upwards towards the foggy night sky above us. He had his mouth open in wonder, prompting Paradox, who was concerned for him, to bring him back to reality.

"Rizer, what's wrong?"

"I… I thought I felt rain just now." The man whispered. His eyes suddenly widened as the moon which had been hiding behind the black fog came out to shed light upon the world.

Behind the burning castle were two mystical waterfall that fell from the top of an overhang nearly a hundred meters above the castle itself. An identical tree to the one now behind us stood atop this overhang, in between both waterfalls. I thought that Rizer may have felt water from the waterfall until I saw a continuous trail of droplets falling from the edge of the overhang where the stone jutted out like the tip of a blade. My gaze found itself narrowing down to a single point, allowing myself to barely recognize a small figure from that distance. Its shadow was being cast on the sides of the canyon, revealing the figure to be sitting down upon the edge of the overhang and looking down upon us. Small parts of the shadow constantly moved around, giving me the image of a cloak swaying in the wind. Considering what was going on around us, and why we were here in the first place, I knew right away that the figure was Mortifer.

I spawned the wings on my back, and the others did the same. With me at the front, I led everyone upwards to the sky, aiming for the overhang which my brother was sitting on. My brother appeared to have seen us flying to him, so he proceeded to back away from the ledge, retreating towards the tree. As we continued our ascent, a warning sign appeared in the sky far above us, informing us that we were reaching the altitude limit. However, we didn't slow down as the overhang was well below the height limit, giving us plenty of space. By the time we reached the same level of the cliffside, Mortifer had already reached the tree, and he was rubbing its trunk with the tip of his fingers.

"Onii-chan," Leafa attempted to call out.

"It was so hard to hold them back," he spoke in a rather weak tone.

Mortifer, whose head was looking downwards, lifted his head up for us to see. His hood was off, letting his hair sway freely in the soft, constant breeze. A seemingly endless river of tears streamed down from both of his eyes which were red from crying. Tears from both eyes rolled down to the bottom of his chin before falling off his face. The sorrowful droplets fell to the blooming flowers beneath him before disappearing into the earth. With his gloved hands, he seized his cloak, and used it to wipe away and stop the tears. However, no matter how many times he buried his face in the torn, black cloak, his tears continued to pour endlessly down his face.

"The game was trying to make me cry so badly earlier that it hurt trying to resist it. But now, I'm trying too hard, yet I can't seem to make my tears stop. They just keep coming out so quickly that I can even see a trail of tears, sort of like a river. Heck, with all this crying and the wind, maybe I can even douse the flames of the castle. Maybe I should try that now."

With a hint of odd excitement in his face, my weeping brother waded through us and made his way back to the cliffside. I stared at my brother as he sat back down the edge of the cliff and continued to cry in silence. He was most definitely in pain, as he usually lets thoughts and impulses take over whenever that happens.

I shifted my gaze back to the pink tree behind us. I didn't notice it before since my brother had covered it up, but there was a missing piece of bark in the middle of the tree's trunk. There was a small, exposed area on the trunk that had engravings on it. I walked a bit closer to the tree since I couldn't read it from the distance I was at, and I found myself right next to it since it was also dark. The letters "M" and "V" were carved into the wood. The "V", however, had been crossed out with two thin cuts while a larger cut separated the two letters.

"You know, I just remembered something Kazuto…" Mortifer finally spoke from behind me. I quickly turned my body to face him and paused to see what my brother would say. "Back when I saved you guys from Kuradeel, in the canyons of the 55th Floor, I relived a precious memory I had with our parents. It was the day after you were born—the day our parents died. It was such a happy memory that I had forgotten because of how little I cared back then. Even when I relived it, I was only reminded of how important you were to me. I didn't bother remembering what our parents looked like, or how their voices sounded. Just now, I suddenly want to hear mom and dad's voice so badly."

Even though Mortifer was already crying out a stream of tears, his tears increased, causing the stream to turn into a roaring river. Not only did he start crying even more, but his words started cutting deep into me, and I felt my own tears form. Next to me, Leafa also started having tears in her eyes. Asuna noticed my sadness and embraced me from the side, ineffectively giving me comfort.

"I want to hear them yell at me for doing bad things. I want them to tell me to stop doing whatever stupid shit I was doing. I want to hear them tell each other 'I love you'. And most of all, I want to hear them tell me that they love me. I realized that I don't remember them saying that to me ever. And now, I want to hear them say it so badly that it hurts. Why did they have to leave us behind and move on to the other side? I want to show them how much I've changed. I want to show them how much I really cared for them deep inside. I want to show them how much I've protected you all this time. I wanted them to at least say they were proud of me, even if I was a son they didn't want."

Even though I never had memories of my real parents, I could still very much relate to my brother's despair. When I found out about my true parents, I no longer felt any emotion when my adoptive mom or aunt gave me compliments or told me that she was proud of me. I just seemingly lost the trust in her words as she never told me the truth.

Thinking about it made me shed even more tears, which then caused Paradox, Trish and Konno to start forming tears in their eyes. However, the most shocking was Cayonz, who broke down completely. The tall, quiet giant caught us off-guard with his sudden crying so much that our jaws dropped from shock. His breakdown prompted him to retreat behind the tree to hide from us. Rizer started making his way towards Cayonz before he stopped in his tracks. He was probably thinking about leaving the man alone, which I would have done since I knew almost nothing about Cayonz. I assumed the same for the guild as well since Mortifer even told me that of the entire guild, Cayonz was the person he knew least about. And, as I suspected, Rizer decided not to chase after Cayonz and instead remained with us.

"Why does it hurt so much…" Mortifer sobbed out. "Has it always been this painful to lose someone important to you? I didn't feel a thing when I lost Oka-san, Otou-san, and Ojii-san. Heck, I didn't even feel anything when Vincent left either. Yet, all those lies I told Violet earlier felt like thousands of hot knives piercing into my soul…"

Mortifer raised a hand to his chest. I couldn't really see, but I assumed he was trying to grab his heart as his clothing shifted slightly. His whole body was shuddering from his inability to stop his emotions from flowing. He then raised his free left hand up to the side of his head, and seemingly squeezed it as if he were in pain. While he did so, Asuna tucked against my sleeve to get my attention, and I looked over to face her.

"Who's Vincent?" Asuna asked me while looking at my brother.

"Vincent?" I repeated. "Well… I think he was an old friend of his… I don't remember much, but he's long gone now."

"Did… Did he die?"

"Die? No, he didn't… He just left the country to go live back at his home overseas."

"The Voices… I can't hear any of them except for hers…" Mortifer finally spoke up. "Not only that, but the scene keeps replaying in my head like an endless nightmare. Even now, I can't even see what's really in front of me. I just see Violet in front of me, screaming out words she didn't say. Yet, every time it repeats in my head, the words just keep getting more real. Did she tell me that I was a murderer? A monster? I can't even remember anymore. I just want to forget it all."

"Violet's voice is in your head?" Leafa asked.

"Of course it is… I killed her in-game… And now, I'm trying my best to kill the memories I have with her. Yet, each time I try to do it, they just keep coming back so vividly that I want to experience it again so badly. I just can't let go of her, yet I must for both of our sakes. If I continue with this relationship, not only will I eventually lose all of my freedom, but Violet will lose a lot of hers as well. She may even get an arranged marriage, just like what your parents did to you Asuna… Isn't that right, Nagato-sama?"

Mortifer tilted his chin upwards looking up at the sky. He reached out to the sky with his right hand as if reaching for something. I thought he was hallucinating since he mentioned Nagato, but when he closed his hands, the air in front of him shimmered slightly. The devious GM came into full view, floating silently in front of my brother, and shocking all of us but him. Mortifer was holding his red cloak with a vice grip, and tugging it towards him, causing the man to move slightly closer.

"You know, if you guys are going to make an invisibility function, you may as well make your bodies intangible," my brother choked through his tears. "I felt your cloak on my boot when I tried to lift it. There was an odd heaviness to it. Even so, I expected you to watch me. After all, I'm confident you want to make sure that my words were indeed true while also enjoying my suffering."

"Unfortunately, only the first statement applies," Nagato corrected. "I don't take pleasure in the suffering of others, but I shall cause the suffering if necessary. So, will you please fully confirm, Reaper of Sorrow?"

"What more do I have to confirm?!"

Out of rage, Mortifer tugged hard on the GM's cloak, causing the admin to stagger forward. With one swift motion, my brother choke slammed the old man to the ground and pinned him down by sitting on his chest. I was afraid he would get blown away like always by the GM, but the elderly man chose not to retaliate. He simply let himself get pinned by my brother and stared at him with an odd curiosity.

"I need you to say that you no longer love Violet and that you will never approach her ever again for the rest of your life," Nagato demanded, causing Mortifer to bite his lips out of frustration.

"I've already promised to not get near her anymore! Why do you still insist to make me hurt myself even more?!"

Mortifer pushed himself off Nagato, and stood back up, towering over the GM. Typically my brother looked down towards people he disliked in a condescending manner, but his pitiful state showed the complete opposite. He was at the complete mercy of Nagato and the Yuzuki family, unable to do anything but stand there in silence. Instead of assaulting Nagato some more like he would usually do to someone, my brother retreated to the edge of the cliff. He stood and looked over the edge at the burning castle.

"Every second that passes, I see her screaming at me words she probably never said before. She along with the other Voices are just constantly demoralizing me and breaking my spirit. It's hurting so bad that I don't think my heart can handle it anymore. Even now, the system is warning me of my heart rate. Yet… Every time I see Violet, I just can't help but love her even more. I can't help but love her sunny, caring and slightly dark personality. I can't help but love the way her voice softens when she is trying to comfort me when I'm down. I can't help but love those eyes of hers that always envelope me in warmth despite being so dark themselves. Yuzuki Ai… I love you…"

Mortifer turned his gaze upwards towards the moon. He reached his hand out towards it and tried grabbing it to no avail. He brought his empty fist back to him and opened it to reveal the emptiness of his hand. He remained silent for almost a minute before his voice reached our ears once again.

"So long ago I was consumed by the darkness, turning me into the person called Mortifer. I had always thought that Mortifer was who I really was, and that I'd always be like him for the rest of my life. It wasn't until I met Violet when I found my salvation. I rediscovered and saved Katsumoto from being completely erased by the monster that was Mortifer. With the help of Violet, I was able to slowly tear away the darkness within and replace it with her light. But now, since you're taking her away from me, my lifeline is gone, and the darkness is overtaking me."

Mortifer started to shiver violently as he crouched down and rolled up into a ball. He buried his face in his legs and completely wrapped himself up with his cloak, like a child wrapping themselves in their blanket during the night.

"Just thinking about turning back to him makes me so scared. I don't want him to come back. I don't want him to do any more bad things. I don't want to go back into being alone in the darkness. It's so cold in there. I want to stay here, in this place filled with light and warmth. I want to be Katsumoto, not Mortifer! Why did you have to do this to me! It hurts… It hurts so much…"

My brother's voice was breaking along with his spirit. By this time, he had pulled the heartstrings of everyone in the vicinity, causing tears to form in each and everyone's eyes. While the girls cried considerably more than the guys, they still could not compete to Cayonz, who was still crying back behind the tree. Most surprising, however, was Nagato, as even he was affected by Mortifer's words. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he listened to my brother's suffering.

I didn't notice it before since I never really paid attention. But now, it was clear in my eyes. My brother had been lost in a seemingly endless sandstorm, unable to find his way through it. The harsh gales powered the rough sands, slowly whittling down both his lifeforce and willpower. He had lost track of himself, unable to find where he was, who he was, and what he was. An identity crisis of extreme proportions that caused him so much pain, yet everyone except for Violet was too blind to see it. Had it been before SAO, I would not have cared at all, as I held no remorse for my brother. But now, I couldn't help but cry just as much as my brother. Here I thought I'd try repairing my relationship with Leafa, whom I had abandoned in my childhood, yet I can't even save my own brother.

"Hey…"

The voice that reached us was unlike what we had been hearing. The weak, hoarse voice of someone who had been crying disappeared into thin air. What was left was the voice of my brother as if nothing wrong had happened to him. In fact, he had stopped shivering, sniveling and any other action he was performing for the past several minutes. He opened up his limbs, letting himself stretch in a sitting position before standing straight up. He inched closer and closer to the edge till he was on the verge of falling off. The front half of his feet hovered in the smoke-filled air while the other half were firmly planted on the ground. Mortifer stared down at the fires below and stood there in silence before finally speaking again. The words that came out from his mouth, however, implanted a terribly dark thought that paralyzed me and everyone else.

"Have you ever wondered what it's like to die?"

The sorrowful figure hidden inside the black cloak lurched forward and plummeted down to the inferno below. We reached our hands out and spread our wings, but all was in vain. Our hands reached and grasped nothing, and our wings failed to lift our bodies. The reality I lived in began to distort right in front of me as I watched the falling body tumble its way down towards the flames. Night turned to day, and the flames turned into clouds as I was reminded of the horror which I witnessed during that day. After I had already witnessed the demise of the Moonlit Black Cats, I was forced to watch as Keita, the leader, threw himself off the edge of Aincrad and into an endless abyss which he perished in. The reality I was witnessing echoed that of my memories, as my brother was soon consumed by the flames. At that moment, my heart sunk as I imagined the same scene play out before me, but on the other side where reality is the truth.

As I myself disappeared from my shattering utopia of virtual reality, I became blinded by a brilliant realm of light. I then found myself in an endless darkness, consumed by my harrowing nightmares. After being lost in a void of hopelessness, I was able to return to my dystopia of reality.

* * *

 **(Kazuto)**

 **Real world**

The gloominess surrounding this single day alone was as solid as the black night. The roaring calamity that is my brother's situation coincidentally coincided with another terrible situation in the real world. Not only was it storming in-game, causing a much more depressing mood for everyone, it was also storming in the real world on a scale that matched the in-game tempest at its peak. Thunder shook the very earth, surely causing distress amongst babies, young children and others who may fear lightning.

I pushed open my bedroom door with such force that I was afraid of breaking it. However, my worries quickly disappeared as there was something far more dire present in the house, and it was hiding behind Katsumoto's barricade. I cared little for the structural damage and self-harm I could have caused, repeatedly rammed into my brother's bedroom door with my entire body. The door shuddered violently while also creaking from the strain. I only had less than a meter of space to gain momentum, so I made sure to put all my strength into my legs.

"O-Onii-c-chan!" I heard Suguha's voice sniveled out.

I rammed into the door once more, bringing pain to my entire right arm and shoulder. I then paused to look down the hallway where Suguha was standing in her lonesome. She was still shedding tears though not as much as her avatar in-game. Noticing her awful state, she wiped the tears away and calmed herself down, so she could speak clearly.

"Katsu-nii went offline. He must've logged off or disconnected from the AmuSphere. I don't really know," she explained to me.

"That's good to know then… Katsumoto!" I shouted out with all the strength my lungs and vocal cords could muster. "Open up the damn door now! And don't do anything stupid while you're at it!"

I didn't wait for his response, as I knew he would either remain silent or not give me anything of use. Instead, I continued to use myself as a battering ram, slowly making the door move ever so slightly. Because it was beginning to move, I figured that I already broke the door frame and the lock, so I continued without hesitation.

"Onii-chan, let me!" Suguha proposed. I hesitated to let her ram the door, but I quickly remembered her monstrous strength as well as the growing pain in my arm.

I stepped aside to let my sister take the painful reins of being the battering ram. She hugged the wall opposite to Katsumoto's door, and quickly tensed up. Her muscles that had been developed from years of kendo bulged out of her body, showing the amount of effort she was putting into her limbs. Then, with the ferocity of a lion and the speed of a snake, Suguha exploded off the wall and went shoulder-first into the door, aiming for the side with the doorknob. With one hard push, Suguha created an opening in the doorway. As I suspected, my brother had toppled over his king-sized bed behind the door. Our combined efforts managed to push the bed far enough to make an opening big enough for our heads to fit through. Suguha stuck her head inside the room and crouched down to allow me to see as well. When I stuck my head inside, I was only slightly shocked at what I saw, but not too much.

Clothes were scattered everywhere, and the walls had scratch marks from furniture being thrown around. My brother's gaming chair sat in the middle of his room, broken into two pieces. While the base of the chair remained relatively intact, the head was utterly bent and disfigured, as if it were folded in half. He probably smashed it multiple times against the floor and walls to bring it to that shape. As I scanned around the room, I noticed that his window was no longer blocked and was wide open. Gusts of wind entered the narrow opening as well as the rain, drenching the floor underneath the window. Realizing that he wasn't in his room, I pulled my head out of the doorway and ran downstairs.

My hastiness caused me to slip and fall along the middle of the staircase. Thankfully, I didn't slip forward but backwards instead, causing myself to land on my butt and slide all the way down. The pain disabled me from standing up too quickly. After recovering, I limped towards the living room. From there, I saw the sliding glass doors wide open, letting in a lot of the rain into our home. Over by the kitchen, the refrigerator door was left open, and many perishables were thrown out. One of our kitchen drawers was also pulled out, and I noticed several small knives lying on the ground beneath it. That's when I noticed a dark puddle of blood in the center of the kitchen as well as a trailed that led outside of our home from the living room. Suguha followed closely behind me, visibly scared of what was going on.

I didn't stop to think, nor did I think I had the time to do so. I completely let my instincts take over as my body brought me outside of our home and into the raging storm. I followed the faint blood trail smeared on the walls and wet ground as it brought me past the front of the house, and then around towards the back. I passed by a bloodied shirt lying on the ground, and I quickly assumed it was Katsumoto's. I set my sights upon our family dojo which was left completely vulnerable to the storm with its open doors. Noticing the blood trail on the front steps of the dojo, I rushed on over along with Suguha to investigate. Surely enough, Katsumoto was lying face down in the middle of the dojo, shirtless and unmoving. A large pool of blood was slowly expanding from his body as his arms and legs continued to bleed profusely. Suguha screamed and ran back to the house, hopefully to call an ambulance. He had a bloodied kitchen knife in his right hand—the one that he'd use whenever he cooked anything—and the sheath on the left.

I hastily rushed over to my brother and checked to see if he was responsive, but I didn't even need to yell into his ears to find out that he wasn't. Not only had he targeted the veins of his arms, but he stabbed deep into his legs as well. In fact, he had cut so deep that he most likely severed an artery as his wound was spurting out blood like a fountain. With this amount of blood and the number of major blood vessels severed, the extremity of his hemorrhage was bound to cause unconsciousness.

"Suguha! Hurry! I need your help now!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I took off my drenched shirt.

I wrapped the sleeves of my shirt tight around Katsumoto's bleeding thigh and tied it as tightly as I could. I ran out of the dojo momentarily to retrieve Katsumoto's shirt, so I could use it for one of his arms. I fashioned his shirt into a poorly made tourniquet and tightened it around one of his arms. I tried to look for something within the dojo I could use to bind his other arm, but I saw nothing of good use, which forced me to leave one arm bleeding as I had to apply pressure to his bleeding leg instead. I pinned my brother's right arm between my right armpit, and I raised his bleeding leg up so that it pointed up at a low angle, and applied pressure on his wound, hoping it would stop.

"Don't you dare die on me Katsumoto! You said you would protect me, right?! You can't protect me if you're dead!" I yelled at him, helplessly shedding tears that blinded my vision. "You're the last real family I have left… So don't fucking die on me! Suguha! Hurry up!"

"The ambulance is on its way!" she shouted from the house. "I'll go get the first aid kit!"

"Hurry!" I shouted out of desperation before applying even more pressure than before. "Katsu-nii! Katsu-nii!"

* * *

 **(Katsumoto)**

 _My eyes were closed, leaving me in darkness. I could no longer feel the gales of wind blowing against my body, nor the cold, wet rain drenching my clothes. The metallic taste of blood was no longer present in my mouth, and the agonizing, yet numbing pain of my bleeding limbs no longer hurt. However, my limbs felt like they were being held down by heavy chains that prisons use to keep their inmates in check. I was probably one of those inmates right now, though I felt as if prison was going to be heaven compared to the hell I was going to go to._

 _"Am I dead?" I_ asked, _as I opened my eyes to a realm filled with light._

 _"Not yet, my son," a soothing voice spoke. "Not yet."_

 _I turned my body around and looked upon the faces of two very important people in my life. To the right stood my mom, and to the left was my dad. The tears came almost instantaneously, and my cold heart began to thaw out of its icy prison as I immersed myself in the presence of my beloved parents. I stumbled my way towards them, dragging my heavy legs across the floor, and making a strenuous effort to reach my hand out towards them. My mother reached out her hand as well, coaxing me to take it. But, as soon as I got close enough to hold her pale white hands, my own hand phased through it as if it were made of mist. My mother remained in front of me, and her hand was still there, trying to reach out to me. I lamented at the fact that I could not touch her, and she too was disheartened. I assumed the same for my father as he mirrored my mother's sorrowful expression._

 _"I see… If I'm not dead, then I must be hallucinating about you guys…" I sulked. "You're not really here are you?"_

 _"We can be here. We also cannot be. What does your heart say that you want?" my father asked. "If you believe we are truly your parents then, by all means, do so. It will only make us happier to know our beloved son cares so much more about us than we ever thought he did."_

 _The tears in my eyes welled up_ even _more, rivaling that of the tears I shed back in-game. I lost the power of my legs, causing me to fall forward. Despite the world's oppression on my shoulders, I fell right into the arms of my parents who saved me from damnation. I could feel their hands' warmth as they held on tightly to my forearms. They did not turn into_ mist _like_ before, _but rather continued to maintain its solid form of matter. I wanted their arms to remain like that forever, always holding me up and saving me from my own demise. I didn't know it before, but it was all I ever wanted in this world._

 _As if my arms were rusty parts of a machine, they struggled to turn and latch on to my parents' arms. When they did, their feeling of warmth grew more powerful, and the chains holding down my limbs melted away like ice. I dragged my feet ever so closer to them, bringing myself to an upright position. Each inch I progressed became far easier than the last, and soon, I found myself standing next to them. I was at eye-level with my father, and slightly taller than my mother. With tears in their own eyes, they surrounded me with the warm embrace I had been longing for so long now. It was hidden away in my subconscious, waiting to be found at the right moment. This was this moment, and I couldn't have been happier for finding it._

 _"Don't blame anything that has happened on yourself Katsumoto. It is our fault for leaving you at the state you were in before, and for thinking that you were born to be what we thought you to be," my mother sobbed._

 _"You're a good kid. Kind, caring, and extremely gifted. With these gifts that you brought upon yourself, you'll be able to survive Katsumoto," my Dad told me. "This world has really become a terrible place. Both your mother and I realized that very early on in our lives, which is why we resorted to helping each other out. Even if you may no longer be able to be with Ai, you still have Kazuto, Suguha and all of your other friends and family with you."_

 _"You were so happy when you saw Kazuto reunite with Asuna-chan. If you can learn to use him and everyone else important to you, then you can at least distract yourself from how cruel this world is," my Mom suggested, unveiling recently clouded thoughts in my head. "You remember, don't you? You promised us to protect Kazuto?"_

 _"Yeah… When you told me that back then, I thought it was simply a command to keep your one 'true' son alive. But now, I realize that you told me that so I wouldn't be lonely. Even if it isn't someone like Violet, I'd still have_ family _to lean on," I said, wiping away tears in my eyes._

 _"That's right my son… So, don't give up just yet! If it really becomes too much to bear, then we give you our word that we will be waiting here for you! We'll be waiting to take your hand and guide you into this new world that we have yet to explore. We will make sure that you will never be alone again!" my mother shouted as she proceeded to crush my chest with her tight embrace._

 _"As long as you still believe in us, then you better believe it that we're going to wait here for you," my father said, smiling wide with tears in his eyes. "Don't let your past consume you any longer. Just like what you said earlier to the world Katsumoto: don't pull back, and always push forward. We lo—"_

 _My parents' arms turned into mist around me, and I felt a mysterious force tug against my back, pulling me away from my parents. They tried to reach their hands out to grasp mine, but their hands continued to turn into mist. I attempted to claw my way out of this vacuum in vain, desperate to stay for a little bit longer. Realizing that I would no longer be able to see them for a long time, I took one last look at their faces, trying to burn the beautiful image in my head._

 _"Did I make you guys proud?" I asked with tears running down my eyes. In unison, their mouths opened and voiced out the words I wanted to hear. Instead of reaching my ears, their voices penetrated directly into my brain, telling me:_

 _"Of course you made us proud Katsumoto... Of course you did… We love you..."_

* * *

 **(Kazuto)**

 **Tokorozawa Hospital, Afternoon of the next day**

To everyone, it was a miracle that my brother managed to stay alive, despite how many blood vessels he severed and the amount of blood he lost. To him, it was probably the complete opposite as his wounds clearly showed his conviction to die. After all, he used such a brutal method to carry out the attempted suicide that even the doctors were surprised he didn't die from it. Suguha and I were lucky enough to make a tourniquet effective enough to stop his femoral artery from bleeding too much, while also applying enough pressure to his bleeding arms. However, we still don't know the extent of the damage my brother caused himself. He lost at least sixty percent of his blood volume, so organ damage was highly likely, but we still don't know for sure. Keeping him alive was the number one priority for the doctors operating him. Now, Katsumoto was back in the ICU wing, though at a different room.

I sat next to my unconscious brother, pondering about the pain he went through to attempt such a thing. Suguha was back at home, unable to calm herself down from the situation. Although I warned her against it, she told everyone of the situation as a way to cope with the stress. The group chat she created between our large circle of friends continuously sent messages in rapid speed, but none of them reached me. I didn't even want to look at what they were saying. However, I didn't need to look to know that there was going to be one rule amongst us, and that was to not tell Ai about any of this. The two of them had gone through enough, and Ai especially didn't need anymore stress placed on her.

"How long was I out?" a cold voice rang in my ears. I looked up to the bed and saw my brother with his eyes wide open. He had an empty expression on his face while he stared at the grey ceiling of the hospital room. He turned his head to the side to face a clock, and squinted his eyes. "Two-thirty… Been more than twelve hours then."

Both joy and anger fueled my emotions, causing me to tread my way over to my brother. He was definitely aware of what he did if he was asking about how long he was unconscious, yet he was being so nonchalant about the entire situation. I made my way to his side, shedding a few tears in the process. I was heavily tempted to hit him, but I instead resorted to just kneeling down beside the bed and resting my head against the frame.

"You idiot… What the hell were you thinking?!" I yelled, probably allowing others nearby to hear. "What makes you think taking your own life would've done anything to help the situation?! What if Ai finds out about this?!"

"I'd rather she not find out, but if she does, so be it… I'd rather not think about the past right now Kazuto..." Katsumoto responded coldly.

"Do you seriously not care about how Ai feels anymore?" I asked, hurt at the words I was hearing since I didn't want him to let her go.

"Kazuto… Please… I don't want to dwell on the past right now… Once I've recollected my thoughts, then we can talk about this. Right now, I just want to rest and get this stupid hospital thing out of the way."

"Even if you recover, you're still going to be monitored in the psych ward. Oba-san can't forcefully put you in a mental hospital, but you're still going to have to go through some counseling." I said, wiping some of the tears while trying to calm myself down.

"Oh… Of course… Such a pain in the ass."

"They're just trying to make sure you won't try to do it again Katsumoto. It's for your own benefit."

"Yeah, well I've already told myself I won't do it again, so why can't they just let me go?" he questioned.

"What makes you they're going to let you go with a petty excuse like that?!" I exclaimed, bewildered at his unreasonable wishes.

"Because I won't do it again…" my brother affirmed, irritation building up in his tone. He gave me such a contemptuous stare that I quickly understood the message even before he said it out loud. "Don't make me repeat myself."

"B-But… Why the sudden change from wanting to just end it all to suddenly wanting to live again?"

"I was reminded that I still have promises to keep. Mom and Dad reminded me while I was knocked out."

His words froze me in place. Not because I was affected by him mentioning the names of the parents whom I never met, but because I knew of their importance to my brother. I didn't know much at first, but after last night, it was beginning to get clearer to me as to how important they were to him, even if he never projected it.

"Did you get to see their faces?" I softly asked, not wanting to anger him.

"Yeah… Or, at least I believe so… It could have been just an illusion created by my mind to help fix itself, but I believe it was really them. I felt their spirits embrace me in that dream. Even now, I still feel their presence behind me, watching my back to make sure I don't fall down any longer… Anyways, any post-traumatic effects?"

"Your leg is messed up since you stabbed it. You're not gonna be able to move it properly till it recovers. The doctors have yet to determine any lasting organ damage, but apparently nothing seemed wrong so far. Other than your mental health, you're in complete recovery. Your abnormal healing played quite a role in saving yourself."

"I guess I'm just too hard to kill…"

"You should thank Mom and Dad for making you like that," I joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I guess I should… Agh, I just wish I didn't have to go through all the mental health counseling," Katsumoto grumbled. "I'll probably be diagnosed with some mental illnesses by the time I'm done with it. PTSD, schizophrenia and anxiety may be some of the ones they'll find. Not to mention the fact that I may have to reveal to them my criminal history."

"Kikuoka Seijirou said he's got that handled. I contacted him about your suicide attempt. He said that he'll send a personal mental health counselor to help you out and make sure you don't do anything." I notified my brother.

"I don't get why that guy wants to keep my identity a secret. In fact, I'm surprised people haven't spilled the beans already. There has to be someone out there who's going to rat me out."

"Maybe you just don't put enough faith in the goodness of humanity."

"Faith? I don't the meaning of such a word."

"IDIOT!" a shrill voice screamed from the doorway. Katsumoto and I turned around and met face-to-face with Suguha, our Oba-san and a few doctors. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!"

Suguha bawled tears as she ran over to Katsumoto, burying her face in his blankets. Katsumoto placed a hand on her head and pet her like a dog. Oba-san came over to sit down next to me and Katsumoto, holding a sorrowful smile on her face. The doctors went to go check on my brother's vital readings and started questioning him about what had happened and asked a few questions to see how his mental health was. Even though all of these events were happening regarding my brother, the only person that was left on my mind now was Yuzuki Ai.

* * *

 **A week later, «SAO Survivors School»**

A week had passed since Katsumoto's suicide attempt, and everything had been a blur for me. Both in the real world and virtual reality, I felt like I was stuck in my own time while everyone else accelerated forward. I would look at people's faces and talk to them, yet I wouldn't recognize them nor the words coming out of their mouths despite the words being Japanese. My mind was just too absorbed with two certain things: Katsumoto and Ai.

I wasn't the only one like that, as everyone else in our circle of friends were affected by it. It affected us students even more so since we were having our final exams. Unlike other schools who held the exams two weeks ago, our school held it on the last few days before summer break began. The recent events affected our ability to concentrate on our studies, and we had to get into one big study group to help each other out. Midori tried inviting Ai to our group but failed to even get her attention. In the end, we decided to let her go since it would be easier to keep Katsumoto's suicide attempt a secret.

Our group met both in the real world and in ALfheim Online to study non-stop. We heavily relied on Patricia in the beginning since she was the smartest, but we quickly realized that we were placing too much weight on her tiny shoulders to bear. Instead, we sought to find answers in the only other person in our group who already graduated from high school and wasn't working a job: my brother.

I brought him his AmuSphere so he could play in the hospital whenever he had the time. Usually, he'd just be holed up in his castle, rebuilding the scorched stones from the ground up. However, when we were online to have our group study sessions, everyone relied on him for answers to our questions, even Patricia. Even though he hadn't been in school for a few years, he still gave us answers to all our questions. Our reliance made me think that we shifted the stress over from Patricia to him. When I asked him about it, however, he didn't seem to mind and even stated that his therapy counseling stressed him more.

In the end, we survived our exams, but we noticed just how much the whole thing with Katsumoto and Ai had affected us. Patricia, who had always been at the top of her grade and class, was ranked fifth instead of first. Ariel thought she would be depressed about it, but Patricia took it quite well despite being such a hard-working student. Everyone else's rankings dropped as well, with Vitushi receiving the lowest passing marks when he was usually a B-student. Even with our lower rankings, everyone was relieved that they survived through that last week. On our last day of school before break, everyone in school was too busy thinking about the summer break to do anything. Because of it, our professors simply decided not to teach and allowed us to roam the school grounds until the day was over. Our group decided to claim the rooftop for ourselves since it was the most isolated place in the whole school.

"Does anybody have plans for the break?" Ariel questioned as she drained the contents of her juice box.

"We're going to Thule Island to find a quest for Yui-chan," Asuna stated. "She said she wanted to go see a whale and Kazuto-kun told us about this certain quest at that location."

"I hear Thule Island is a nice place to have fun at the beach, but it's so far south and filled with dangerous monsters that nobody goes there," Midori recalled. "I've also never heard of a quest on Thule Island."

"The quest isn't actually on «Thule Island», but at an «Undersea Temple» near it. Heck, I don't even know if there really is one since I only heard rumors about it," I sighed, hoping that I wasn't fooled by the forum post by some random insane player. "Either way, you guys can join us in the quest if you want to."

"I'd rather we just hang out on the beach and wait for you guys," Ryu spoke up as he stared into the sky. "After everything that's been going on lately, I just want to relax and not deal with any troubling matters. Taking a nap in a warm summer's day at the beach sounds very nice right now."

"Speaking of troubling matters, have you guys seen Ai today?" Haru asked, looking down at the school grounds from the fenced ledge of the rooftop. "I haven't seen her at all."

"Nope, haven't seen her at all," Rika shrugged. "It may be because we're at different grades, but it's kinda' hard to miss someone with such vibrant purple highlights.

"Oh, I see her!" Keiko exclaimed, pointing out towards the front of the school.

Everyone hurried over to the side of the rooftop, peeking through the gaps of the metal fence. Surely enough, a girl with black-purple hair was slowly walking across the parking lot to the entrance gate of the school. Her black hair with purple highlights swayed in the wind and glistened the in the summer sun. Ai had her backpack with her as she walked further and further away from the school grounds. At the gate, I noticed a single black car with a man waiting in front of it.

"Isn't that Nagato-san? The Yuzuki family's butler?" Asuna questioned.

"Yup. Definitely. I will never forget that bastard's face," Ariel snarled, still angry for him using Patricia and Vitushi as bait for Katsumoto.

"Is she leaving? In the middle of the day?" Ryu wondered.

"Her parents probably forced her to leave to scold her," Vitushi finally spoke up. Everyone turned their heads to Vitushi, wondering what his words meant.

"Scold her? For what? She hasn't talked to Katsumoto in a while now," I affirmed.

"Did you guys not notice it? Ai-chan wasn't listed in the exam rankings." Vitushi grimly stated as he stared at Ai with sorrowful eyes.

"Actually, I did notice that… I was looking for her name in the list for her grade, but I didn't find her anywhere," Asuna recalled. "Did something happen with her exams?"

"Oh something happened alright. I'm surprised you guys don't even know. It's been the talk of the school. After all, if the student council president does something out character, then everybody's bound to now."

"Vitushi… What happened with Ai?" I demanded an answer, walking up to him.

Unlike his usual reactions, he didn't show any fear of me and almost ignored me. In fact, he just turned his gaze towards me, showing me the sadness written on his face. He let out a long sigh and looked back at Ai, who was getting into the car. A moment later, a tear formed in Vitushi's eyes.

"She's not listed in the rankings because she didn't take any of the exams given to everyone by the school. The moment she got each exam from the teachers, she furiously tore it to bits before going to sleep on her desk."

* * *

 **(Katsumoto)**

 **A week later, Kirigaya family home**

Rain fell, and thunder boomed outside as I picked up the scattered clothes in my bedroom. My family hadn't bothered to clean up the mess I created that night as they were too focused on my physical and mental health. While I was discharged from the hospital, my actions were being heavily monitored. During my hospital stay, I repeatedly saw this one counselor who was always with me, monitoring me and my every move. Afterwards, I was told that I had to go see this certain counselor every week, but I was already refusing to go as I didn't enjoy being with him. I understood why he couldn't instantly believe my declaration of never attempting suicide ever again, but I figured he would give some leeway. Still, it was probably my fault for being like this in the first place. I just wished I didn't have to see him for the rest of my life.

Lightning flashed outside, and I counted five seconds before a rumbling boom followed. As the house shook slightly from the powerful lightning bolt, I folded up the last piece of clothing and returned it back into my closet. I brushed the dust off my hands and turned my head towards my broken gaming chair which I had placed beside my computer desk. With the beating I made it go through against the walls of my room, the chair was beyond repair. I needed to get a new one if I didn't want to stand up as I used my computer. Speaking of which, my computer had been on for the past two weeks, draining electricity from the house. The monitor was turned off, but the CPU was still running quietly since nobody turned it off. I probably ruined it in some way, but I could just make a new one.

I approached my desk and kneeled in front of the blank monitor. I booted up the monitor, causing my desktop to appear in front of me. It was exactly how I left it two weeks ago: an open letter of the mission details the Lords of ALfheim had sent me, and two separate windows for YouTube and the «MMO Tomorrow» website. Even after the two weeks, the news of my successful assassination of Mortimer and duel against Eugene was still on the front page of the «MMO Tomorrow». The YouTube page refreshed itself and showed that I was currently trending around the world. Surely enough, I was number one on trending as well. Popular Japanese gaming YouTubers even made videos about me and victory which also trended in the country. I was afraid of all the attention I was getting as it would be hard even for Kikuoka to monitor something as big as these websites.

My inbox was also riddled with emails from virtual strangers who were basically fanning over me. Because my «MMO Tomorrow» account has my email linked to it, I accumulated more than a hundred thousand emails in the past two weeks alone. They were a mix of fan messages, mission requests and hate comments which I quickly tossed into the trash. Since I could only delete a hundred at a time, I knew I would be there for a long time.

I repeated the same tedious process for several minutes, becoming severely drowsy due to the dark lighting and somber mood. It wasn't until I got to the seven thousand range when I found a certain email that didn't have a lengthy subject such as 'I AM UR BIGGEST FAN PLS NOTICE ME' or 'Can you please help me with this mission up in the Gnome territory where I have to clear out a certain cave?'. The subject was simply 'You Promised'. It was short and straightforward, and I was about to delete it when I noticed the sender's username. The email came from the username Torntomatter. I had no clue what kind of person would choose such a name, yet the name sounded so familiar to me. It intrigued me so much that I stopped my mass removal of emails to go and check on the email. It was written entirely in English.

 _"Winter of 2018. I wonder if you remembered what happened during this time. It wasn't that long ago, yet to me, it seems like a distant memory. It was a rather dark time for both of us, wasn't it, Katsumoto-san? You were still recovering from that accident at that time. The memories of that night still haunt me. Is it the same for you? Have you changed since then? Are you still that cold-blooded loner who buried himself in his study books? Or did I turn you into a gamer with all the fun times we had together? It's weird. Those last few months we spent together were both the best and worst times of my life. However, the best memory of all was our trip to Omiya Park on your 15th birthday. At that day, you made me a promise. Do you remember? You promised that if you get internationally famous whether it be real-world accomplishments or online achievements, you'd come to visit me. You laughed at your own promise since you didn't think you'd do it. But, I always believed that you would do it, as you always did what others could not. And here we are now, in 2025, where YouTube's number one video is about a player by the name of Mortifer. The same exact username I suggested you take on. My old online alias. At first, I doubted myself since anybody could have such a username. That's why I searched your name up in the «MMO Tomorrow». Surely enough, I find a picture of an Imp dressed in all black like a grim reaper. To add on, the guy's bragging about his extraordinary skills in the game which is now recognized by everyone in the whole world. Your pride knows no bounds, Mortifer-san. You better keep your promise, or I'll hunt you down myself. You are not the only one who's changed ever since that day."_

The lengthy email ended there, leaving me utterly speechless. The memories flooded into my mind as I read each word, and now, I fully remembered exactly what had happened at that time. I remember the car crash and being hospitalized for at least a month. I remember the white flowers of the sakura trees as we strolled underneath their branches, and I remembered the junior high school graduation ceremony. I shed no tears, but I was being overwhelmed with emotions. These emotions were not sadness but guilt. I could not believe I could forget him. He who was so close to changing who I was before I met Violet.

"Vin—"

Police sirens suddenly wailed outside my house, and all emotions disappeared instantly. I stood up from the ground and headed to my window. I could barely see the rooves of multiple cars parked right outside our home. Three police cars with officers on standby were parked outside, as well as a single black Rolls-Royce. A very familiar butler exited the driver's seat of the black car and pulled out an umbrella to shield himself from the drizzling rain. He opened the rear passenger seat doors to reveal three more very familiar faces. My brows naturally creased as a nearly uncontrollable rage built up within me. Ai's mother, father, brother and butler were all standing outside our house with a large group of armed police officers.

Those sons of bitches decided not to keep their promise after all. Even though I already gave up Ai and nearly my life, they still want to take my freedom away. I backed away from the window and stormed towards my bedroom door to head downstairs. However, I stopped midway when I looked back at my personal display cabinet. Several schools, karate and kendo rewards were on top of the cabinet while several games were in smaller compartments on the side. The middle section, however, housed something much more intriguing to my eyes. I quickly opened the middle cabinet and grabbed the regal green box contained in it. I carefully placed the box on the floor and unlocked its latches. I opened the lid slowly to reveal the Kirigaya family heirloom: a century-old traditionally crafted katana. It was never used as a weapon but only for display. Because of that, its edges were as sharp as they were a hundred years ago. It was a katana of the highest caliber.

I drew the sword from the sheath and admired my reflection within it. I stared back into my own dead eyes, as I resolved myself to carry out what I was going to do. It looked like I wouldn't be able to protect my brother for long or be able to keep my promise to him. However, that still doesn't mean I can try to keep my freedom for as long as possible. If they wish to so badly take my freedom away, then I shall do the same and take away theirs.

* * *

 **(Ai)**

 **A few hours later, Yuzuki family home in Kyoto**

The summer sun gazed down on me, drying my wet hair that I had been brushing with my hand for the past half hour. There was a constant mountain breeze that continued to bother me as it blew my hair into my face. I didn't mind it though, as the wind brought about the wonderful scents this garden of ours brought us. I always spent most of my time out in this garden since it was very dear to me. My grandmother and I had planted those lavender brushes and sakura trees, making this garden infinitely more beautiful. Yet, here I sat, thinking that its beauty didn't seem to match up to what it was like before she had passed. Maybe it was because of the current season, as cherry blossoms didn't bloom in July.

No… I knew exactly why the garden didn't look as beautiful as before. Even so, I refused to accept it as the reason. I had been refusing it for so many days now, but it wouldn't stop attacking me. Every time I look at a guy near my age, I see him staring back at me with those same black eyes. When I hug my pillow in the night because of the dark, I imagine him in my arms, protecting me from the misery of this world. Now, I was left vulnerable to all that misery, and there was no way for me to fix it. Well, that's what I would like to say, but I figured that there was a solution to everything, whether it be a good or bad one.

I stood up from the stone bench I was sitting on and walked my way to the hanging cliffside of our mountainside home. The surreal view overlooked the Kyoto countryside, with the city in the distance. Past the intricate stone guardrail was the far drop into the vivid landscape below our elevated home. The more I stared at it, the more I became captivated by its beauty. At the same time, I was becoming more and more saddened at the fact that I would not be able to see it any longer.

"There's still so much I want to do with this life of mine," I whispered to myself as I perched myself on the guardrail. "I want to travel the world and see places I've never seen before. I want to learn music and create a song about my life. I want to dive into different virtual worlds and experience all I cannot experience here in the real world. But most of all, I want to spend my life with you, and build it from the ground up, together… Katsumoto…"

Tears quickly formed in my eyes as I remembered his face one last time.

"I'm so sorry… I hope I get to see you again as I move on with my life… I love you…"

I took a hard step forward in my life, feeling nothing but the cold, merciful air below me. I let my arms break free as I let go of all my responsibilities. Fearing what's to come, yet not wanting to go back, I let myself fly away into the darkness below me, hoping to see if death can offer me a life better than what life itself had offered.


	9. Chapter 8: The New Beginning

**(Katsumoto)**

 _The summer sun beamed down through the vividly green leaves of palms, blinding our eyes from seeing what was front of us. Ai used her own hands to shade my eyes while she turned her own head to the side, resting her cheeks on my left shoulder. She began to slip off my back, and so I readjusted her position by pausing momentarily and allowed her to move further up. I placed my hands on her thighs and held on more tightly as we traversed barefoot on the sand-covered earth. We continued to advance closer and closer to the light, helping each other take on the world's challenges. When we finally broke through the darkness of the trees, we looked upon the most divine heaven we could ever find in this new world of ours._

 _The sea-green waters of our heaven were sparkling in the summer sun, its beauty unharmed by the atrocities we'd seen already in this world. The white sands were scorching hot, but the heat warmed my soul as the cool sea breeze swept past by._

" _You can set me down now," Ai whispered into my ear, captivated by the view in front of us._

 _I listened to her orders, and kneeled down for her to get off my back. After doing so, she ran out to the sandy beach, out into knee-deep water. Her clothes dampened as she produced salty splashes with her feet. She joyfully basked in the sun and turned around to me._

" _So, this is what heaven feels like!" she cried out gleefully._

" _Yeah… I thought I would never get to experience it."_

 _I stepped into the cool, salty seawater, wading out to where Ai stood. I took my time as I wanted to admire the view, but Ai grew impatient and hurried over to drag me further away from the shore. I allowed myself to be pulled into the sea by Ai up until we got to waist-deep water where it became too hard for her to pull me. I noticed a sandbar further ahead and decided to pick up Ai once again like a damsel in distress. She playfully laughed out from my sudden movements and reluctantly let me carry her. I began a slow ascent into the protruding sandbar, slipping occasionally from the slippery sand underneath my feet. When we reached the top, the water only reached up to my heel. The two of us admired the afternoon sun for a brief period until I noticed Ai look back towards me._

" _You can put me down now," she told me._

" _And if I don't want to?" I teased her._

 _She gave me a mischievous smile before quickly rolling out of my arms. She landed on her feet, splashing both water and wet sand all over the two of us. All of a sudden, Ai jumped towards me with great speed, and wrapped her arms around my neck as we made contact. Her momentum carried over to me, and my unpreparedness caused me to fall from the lack of balance. I landed hard on my back, but the fall didn't hurt me. The seawater did splash into my eyes, irritating them greatly. I groaned from the impact and tried to sit up, rubbing my eyes to cease the pain. Before I could sit up, Ai positioned herself right on top of me, sitting directly above my stomach. She pushed hard against my chest, forcing me back down._

 _I chose to remain lying down, and Ai gave me her special smile, approving of my submission to her. She flipped her hair around her head so that it gathered at the right side of her face. Her wet hair clumped together instead of flowing freely and separately, showing a sexier side of Ai that I rarely got to see as I always saw her wearing some type of armor or casual clothing. Her hands slowly slid down my chest and towards my abdomen before they began to come back up from my sides and past my shoulders. She planted her hands in either side of my head and bent down so that our faces were a few centimeters apart. I stared at her in wonder, anticipating a kiss. She seemed to have read my mind as she gave me one of her special smiles. She then closed the gap between our faces, and our lips connected with a fiery passion._

 _Ai moved her arms, pulling up my head slightly so that she could wrap them around it. Her body was now much closer to my own, and I lustfully placed my hands on both her hair and lower back. Our kiss continued for a long time, eventually turning into a make-out session. We were so focused on maintaining our connection that neither of realized that I somehow managed to get on top. We only noticed when we finally stopped to breathe for air, causing us to open our eyes. The sight surprised both of us, and Ai found the scene to be funny. She started to giggle, causing me to chuckle in response to her contagious laughter._

" _The two of us can finally be alone again… Seems like death actually gave me a life better than life itself."_

* * *

 **Kirigaya family home**

The razor-edged tip of the blade hovered a mere millimeter away from the eyes of Ai's father. All of the policemen had their guns drawn out, pointing their crosshairs at me. The only thing that prevented them from shooting was the presence of Yuzuki Shitori, who in between me and the policemen. A visible nervousness was expressed on his face while Yuzuki Alluka had her mouth covered with both hands. To ease up some tension, I shifted the blade away from his eyes, and placed it below his chin. I forced him to look upwards slightly, but his eyes kept their focus on me.

"I let Ai go, I haven't made any contact with her for weeks, and I even attempted suicide. Even after all of that, you still decide to fuck up my life even more by not keeping your promise," I snarled at him. "If you insist on taking me to jail, you should've brought tranquilizer darts instead of real bullets. I can tell just by looking at the barrel, gun model and the magazine clips that those are indeed real guns. With those bullets, the only thing you'll bring back to jail is my bloodied corpse. Now, we are going to settle this peacefully, okay? You go away and leave me alone for the rest of my life, or suffer having your neck sliced open, and maybe your wife as well. I would love to see someone bleed out just like me that day. I'm sure your butler knows exactly what I mean by that."

"If you're talking about your attempted suicide, then I already know about it," Shitori responded.

"Oh? Did he tell you about it? Were you sad that I lived? What's that English phrase… Ah yes, you were hoping to find me _six feet under_ , weren't you?"

" _I do believe that is the correct phrase, if you're referring to burial caskets,"_ he said in fluent English, catching my slightly off-guard. Well, I shouldn't be too surprised if a Japanese technology company's CEO can speak English. " _As for Nagato-san, he didn't tell me about your suicide because he didn't know about it until I told him. I was the one controlling that avatar on that day."_

My brows wrinkled even more, as my scowl of contempt turned to that of perplexity. I raised my sword even more, forcing Shitori to nearly look straight up. The police officers responded by inching closer, and repositioning their arms which had fallen from the stress of holding it straight. Alluka no longer covered her mouth, but she had her hands clasped together right below her chin, still nervous of what may happen.

"It was already odd enough for you to make your CHRO leave his duties and watch over your daughter. Now the CEO admitted to taking time off just to make plans to ruin my life via virtual reality. You sure your plans aren't taking a toll on your corporation?"

"The matter happened on a weekend, and Nagato-san had already chosen to retire his position when a replacement came by. It just so happens that we found one before he proceeded with becoming my daughter's bodyguard. There were no visible side effects from my plans. Well, all except for one thing…"

"And this one thing?"

"May we converse inside? While this courtyard of yours appears rather cozy on a sunny day, the rain tarnishes its beauty."

I lowered my blade, surprised from his calm demeanor. Shitori viewed this as me granting him permission to enter my home, as he pushed the katana away from his neck and walked past me. Alluka followed him, but stopped next to me to bow in my direction.

"Sorry to disturb… Officers, you may return to your vehicles or sit under the roof of the patio, but please don't enter inside. That applies to you two as well, Hitori-kun, Nagato-san..." she spoke rather calmly despite the nervousness she displayed earlier.

"You sure, Okaa-san?" Hitori questioned her motives.

"Let's listen to your mother, Hitori-sama," Nagato calmed his spirits. "Wouldn't want to cause any more trouble that we have done so already.

The officers reluctantly obliged, with the majority of them taking shelter under the roof and only two returning to their parked vehicles outside. By the time my mind processed everything, Shitori and Alluka had both taken a seat on one of the couches, leaving the one parallel to it vacant for my taking. Still confused, I kept my katana in hand, and closed the sliding doors behind me. I pulled the curtains to block the view of the outside, but I left a small opening so that the officers wouldn't bother me with it. I turned around and walked to the vacant couch, eyeing the Yuzukis and trying to figure out what they were up to. I slowly sat down on the couch, and placed my sheath on the table between us. I kept the katana in hand, placing it horizontally across my lap.

"So, what exactly are you doing here?" I interrogated them.

"We're here because of our daughter," Shitori answered with a grave tone. "Ai-chan hasn't been herself lately, even more so than before when this whole thing started. She refused to retake the exams she ripped up in school, and because of it she's getting close to restarting her school year, even when she's so far behind already compared to others of her age. She's eaten very little these past two weeks, and barely interacts with her own family."

"I'm pretty sure that ruining your daughter's life will equate to a response similar to that, no matter how strong the bond is between parent and child. How exactly is this my problem?"

"This is your problem because you didn't need to hurt her. All you needed to do was to leave her forever. Everything else you committed that night against her was extraneous."

"Even if I didn't kill her in-game, I would only just be delaying the inevitable. Had I ended it later, the damage done would be irreversible, and I would've lost much more than your daughter. After all, you threatened taking my life or putting me in jail if I refused. You're lucky I only did that much to her."

"Shitori…" Alluka finally spoke up, her voice weak and saddened. "Just go and tell him already… I can't stand it anymore, seeing our daughter like… _that_ …"

Alluka grabbed her husband's arm, clutching it tightly. A tear formed on the corner of her eye which she quickly wiped away. Shitori wrapped her in a warm embrace before kissing his wife on the forehead. He stroked her hair repeatedly, calming her. During that time, I simply stared in confusion as I could not tell what they were up to. That is until both of them got up from the couch only to fall down to their knees. In the tiny space between the couch and table, they planted both their hands and heads on the ground, bowing towards me—a dogeza.

"We are so sorry…" Alluka apologized, confusing me even more so than before. "We are truly, truly sorry for what we've done to you these past few months. We took everything too far."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, completely confused as to why people like them were bowing to me, a shut-in NEET.

"When we bought the rights of ALfheim Online and possession of SAO's files, we discovered your corrupted files and connected them to the deaths of many SAO players," Shitori started to explain. "At that time, we were not aware that our daughter was dating you until Vitushi-kun and Hitori-kun told us about it. Upon further research, we deduced that you were indeed the player behind Mortifer."

"What does this have to do with anything right now?"

"We… We just couldn't grasp it," Alluka stammered, a noticeable astonishment in her voice. "We had always thought our daughter to be someone who could make responsible choices. We couldn't understand how she was with someone like you, especially if she knew of what you did."

"After planting a bug in her school backpack and having an in-game spy to monitor her actions, we eventually found out during your fight with the foreign NPC back during the launch of the Aincrad update," Shitori started. "We researched the foreign NPC and traced the files to your AmuSphere to find your location. After spying you both in-game and in the real world, we declared you and Mortifer as one in the same."

"Breaking privacy laws just to keep your daughter safe… Well, I can't argue since I'm willing to protect those I love to great extents as well. Again, what does this have to do with all of the things you put me and Ai through?

"It was a test that our family devised. Cruel, harsh and unlike anything we've ever done before, but it was necessary for us," Alluka sobbed, starting to cry. "All I wanted was to make sure the two of you really did love each other. I couldn't bear to see my daughter's heart to be broken because of some fake love. To be honest, we didn't have faith in your relationship whatsoever, so we expected the test to end quickly and for our daughter to recover from it quickly as soon as she realized you weren't what she thought you to be… But… But…"

Alluka broke down completely, causing police officers to look through the window. Shitori motioned for them to calm down and that the situation was just fine. When the officers obliged, Shitori focused on comforting his wife who cried into her hands. Still rubbing her small back with his right hand, Shitori continued where his wife could not.

"The test prolonged much longer than we expected, and we started seeing drastic changes to Ai's mood and personality. We attempted to spy on you again, but you never left your home at that point on, so we instead tasked Ai-chan's bodyguards to spy on her friends as well to see if they were affected. Surely enough, they were, and we started realizing just how badly it was affecting everything regarding our daughter's life. I realized that if I didn't want to cause anymore prolonged damage, I needed an ultimatum. I wasn't aware of the plot to assassinate the Salamander Lord until Hitori told me about it. Silver, the Lord of the Leprechauns, was actually my son Hitori."

The sudden reveal of the Leprechaun's Lord identity brought me over the edge. I was already caught off-guard by all of this information I'm receiving, but learning that Ai's brother was the Leprechaun Lord made me realize just how in the world they managed to find out about Mortimer's assassination. I also felt an urge to apologize for being rude to Hitori, but I shrugged it off since I was still too confused as to what they were trying to tell me.

"After I eavesdropped on their mission briefing, I contacted Eugene and risked losing the entirety of ALfheim Online for the good of our daughter. In a sense, the plan was indeed successful. However, I didn't expect any of the given results. You stood there, defeated yet victorious, and escaped the impossible. You finally separated with my daughter, yet refused to stop loving and caring for her. But worst of all, I almost claimed your life with the actions I made… I truly am sorry…"

Alluka wiped her tears away with her arm, and slowly pushed her husband's arm away. She quickly got back into a bow, yet it looked much more sincere than last time. Shitori did the same, and I started to realize just how truthful their words really were. Not knowing what else to do, I picked up my sheath and placed the katana back inside. I set the weapon on the couch, and stood up from its soft cushions. I approached the two vulnerable Yuzukis and towered above the both of them. I was no longer below them, yet I didn't feel like I was above them either. We were all humans standing on the same level, finding an impossible middle ground in the vasts wastelands of despair. However, it always seemed to me and others that I could do what others could not.

"Please… Stand up…" I asked of them politely.

The two of them obliged to my request, and stood up to meet me on eye level. While Alluka stood slightly shorter than me, Shitori and I were of the same height. We looked at each other in the eyes, and tried to discern any false feelings hidden behind them. Neither of us seemed to have found any discrepancies within each other, causing us to relax.

"I don't know your full story," Shitori started. "I don't know your reason for killing all those people, or if you even have one. We cannot overlook your past, your sins, and the danger you may bring to our daughter. However, as parents to a child, we only want what is best for her. Our daughter is growing to be a magnificent woman, but it seems to us that she cannot be whole without the person she loves. So tell us Mortifer-kun… No… Kirigaya-kun… For the last time..."

Alluka reached into her pocket and revealed a large black picture frame. I didn't notice it before, but the way she had been holding her jacket indicated the fact that she was holding something. Even so, I didn't notice it nor did I think she would pull out a picture frame. Alluka handed over the picture frame to me face down, urging me to flip it over as soon as I got it in my hands. Upon touching it with my fingers, I slowly took the frame, careful not to break it, and flipped it right-side up, allowing me to see the beauty it was hiding.

The picture showed me a gorgeous picture of a divine black-haired girl dressed in a lavender kimono. Her hair trailed down to her chest, just a little bit below the shoulders. She was fiddling with a small rose flower stuck in her hair, causing a petal to fall off and stay frozen in time. She held a pink parasol in her opposite hand, resting the handle on her right breast. Sun rays beamed down on her, but her tiny parasol sheltered her in shadows that only seemed to highlight her face even more. The background was blurred from the focus of the camera, yet I was able to discern the graceful cherry blossoms in the winter time. Even with the snow that fell around her, she shone so brightly that even the photographer felt warm enough to accompany her. The soft look of those black, yet mirror-like eyes fit perfectly well with the radiant and angelic smile of hers. But together, she was more than just an angel to me, but a breathtaking goddess.

"Do you love our daughter?" Alluka questioned.

I already knew my answer to begin with, but I still hesitated. I couldn't believe the fact that this was happening, but I gladly accepted it with my arms open wide.

"I do… Even if those feelings were hidden back then, I'm sure… I'm sure that I have loved her since the moment we met. I always have and always will."

"Do you promise us to always keep that precious smile on her face?"

"The world would go cold without it."

"Do you promise us to fulfill her desires, no matter how big or small?"

"I will travel endlessly to fulfill her wishes without fail."

"Do you promise to not bring her into any danger, and if dangers do come, that you will protect her with your life?"

I hesitated to answer the last question, and the two of them knew exactly why. They knew the dangers I posed just being with anybody, even my family. I am a criminal who has yet to be punished. It will be found out eventually, but I just hope that the truth remains untold for now,

"I cannot promise you to protect her with my life because if I die, then she is in danger to herself and future dangers she may face. I can only promise you that I will defend her even if it costs both of our lives. Because at least then, I will be there to protect her in the afterlife."

Both Alluka and Shitori gave me a weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. Alluka nodded her head, and asked one final question.

"Do you promise to spend the rest of your life with her?"

"From youth till old age. During your lifetime and beyond. In both life and death, for death will never do us part. I will remain by her side forevermore."

Without showing any reaction to my response, Shitori placed a hand on Alluka's back, and pat it in an encouraging fashion. This small push of motivation granted Alluka enough strength to move her arms in the midst of her heavy crying. She lifted up her left hand and pulled out the exquisite ring fitted into her ring finger. She held the ring out to me with both hands as if giving an offering. She looked up to my eyes and smiled affectionately.

"This was the ring my mother gave to my husband to propose to me. The two of us also had quite an argument with our parents regarding our relationship, but it was all because they did the same thing we did to you and Ai-chan. A cruel family tradition is it not?"

"Cruel is an understatement… But why are you giving this to me?" I asked her.

"Oh come on Kirigaya-kun. I just told you why my mother gave my father this ring. Don't make me repeat myself. Doing this myself for my daughter is quite embarrassing."

My eyes opened wide, shocked as I truly processed the words she spoke to me. I could not feel my body because of it, yet it moved without my will, taking the ring from her hands. I examined the beautiful purple diamond ring as it sat upon a shiny silver throne.

"We give you permission to marry our daughter."

The storm outside started dying down, creating an ever-growing silence that I gratefully utilized to process my thoughts. In fact, the storm passed so quickly that light began to leak in the room through the window blinds of the sliding doors. The once dark home was beginning to lighten up, perfectly reflecting my mood as I repeated her words in my head. A gentle warmth coursed through my body, and I felt the tears forming in my eyes. I fell to my knees, enclosing the ring in my hands and embracing it against my heart, feeling the hope it was giving me. I wanted this moment to last forever, but I knew it wouldn't last. Because of that, I made use of every single second and savored the warmth and hope the ring was giving me. Even if they were actually lying and made it so believable that I fell for it, I would still likely believe in the lie for my own psyche's sake.

"Ai-chan is currently at our family home all the way in Kyoto," Shitori informed me, crouching down to pat me on the back. When I looked up to him, he gave me a smile of reassurance, and all my doubts about any dishonesty disappeared. "At first, we asked these police officers to protect us from any chances of you retaliating, which almost occurred. Thankfully you didn't. But now, it seems we can use them in another way, though I will likely have to pay extra because of it…"

"W-What are you going to do?"

"If I knew this storm was going to stop so suddenly, I would've reserved us a helicopter to take. Since that's not the case, we're going to have to do it the traditional way. From what I've seen, you have a pretty nice car. How fast do you think you can go with a police escort?"

* * *

 **(Ai)**

 **A few hours later, Yuzuki family home in Kyoto**

"I'm so sorry… I hope I get to see you again as I move on with my life… I love you…"

I took a hard step forward in my life, feeling nothing but the cold, merciful air below me. I let my arms break free as I let go of all my responsibilities. Fearing what's to come, yet not wanting to go back, I let myself fly away into the darkness below me, hoping to see if death can offer me a life better than what life itself had offered. As I prepared for my fall to eternal sleep, a muffled voice reached my ears, and I pushed the annoyance aside. Why couldn't the world just let me fall asleep in peace?

A shockingly warm sensation surged through my left hand, and my fall was broken by a powerful tug. I opened my eyes to look at the sheer cliff below me while I dangled in the air. My momentum caused me to swing side to side, and I soon realized that the warm sensation on my left hand was actually another hand. I had only noticed due to the increasingly tighter grip the person was making. I looked up, disappointed by my failure to die, only to look upon the face of someone I thought I lost.

"Please… Grab on…" Katsumoto told me, his face filled to the brim with stress and despair. He barely managed to catch himself on the curved edge of the guardrail. I could see his hand slowly slipping from the wet surface of the railing. "Grab on and don't let go…"

"K-Katsumoto?! What are you doing?! How did you get here?!" I exclaimed, not knowing what else to say.

"Please! Grab on now! I can't hold on for much longer!"

As I moved my open hand to reach for his, a pair of hands came from above Katsumoto and enclosed itself around the arm he was hanging from. Hitori's face peeked from behind the railing, also expressing his strenuous efforts. Nagato also appeared and grabbed hold of Katsumoto's hand. Together, the two of them started to pull us back up to the ledge. When Katsumoto managed to get a good hold on the guardrail, he pulled me all the way up and above the railing, bringing me to safety. He quickly jumped the barricade and rushed over to hug me. I was caught off-guard by his actions and wanted to push him away so he wouldn't get punished, but he held on tightly. Even so, neither Nagato nor Hitori did anything to separate the two of us, but simply observed instead with shocked expressions. Hitori was already bawling his eyes out while Nagato was on the verge. Why were they here? I thought I was alone for a few more days till they finished up work back at home. I couldn't wrap my mind around any of this.

"Ai-chan… We're so sorry," a shaky voice spoke up. Knowing that I wanted to turn around, Katsumoto continued his embrace, but rotated his body so that I could look upon my mother and father's faces. "We didn't expect any of this to happen… First him… Now you… I can't believe we caused all of this!"

My mother began to cry on my father's shoulders while he too started to break down crying. The two hugged each other, and I found myself even more confused. Were they referring to Katsumoto? If that's what they meant, then did he attempt it as well?! I pushed myself away from him, but I only managed to put some distance between our faces. His arms were still locked around me, unwilling to let go. I took a good, hard look at Katsumoto's face, but his eyes did not meet mine. He was obviously affected by my mother's words, which only confirmed my suspicions.

"I wanted to keep it a secret," Katsumoto told me. "If you found out about it, I suspected that you would be in even greater pain to know that I was just lying to both myself and you. As soon as we separated from each other that day, I felt so shitty and hopeless that I wanted to end it all. I failed in my attempt, but I realized I had more things to do. Promises to keep. But now, I've learned the truth from your parents, and I regained hope. So please, let me be selfish again and don't leave me…"

Katsumoto reached into his right pocket, and scuffled the contents inside. I could hear the sound of car keys jingling as well as some sort of paper, but what he pulled out was neither of those. Instead, he pulled out a familiar-looking ring. The silver ring held a purple diamond in its crown, presenting its majesticness to the world. It was my mother's ring, passed down from my grandmother and so forth. A valuable family heirloom passed down to the first daughter to be married in the family. Katsumoto slowly slid the ring into my left ring finger, and fixed it so that the purple diamond shone against the sunlight. To make sure I wasn't losing my mind, I looked at my mother's hand and noticed the absence of her ring. My mouth dropped open when both my parents smiled through the pain I caused them. Tears formed out of the corner of my eyes as I processed the entire situation. So many feelings were overwhelming me, but my anger and frustration dominated at that moment, and I couldn't help but break free from Katsumoto's grasp. While he resisted at first, Katsumoto reluctantly obliged and I turned my body towards my parents, fists balled in rage.

"Everything you've done to us in these past few months… Separating us, creating rules we had to abide by, and threatening Katsumoto with prison or execution… Was this all some stupid joke?!"

"No dear… We would not dare do something like this as a joke. If all of this were done as a joke with these same results, I would not dare call myself a parent ever again," my mother declared.

"Then why?!" I screamed louder. "If this isn't some sick joke, then what made you think forcing us to go through this would do any benefit?!"

"Onee-chan…" Hitori jumped in. "Don't you remember the story Mom used to tell us? How when she met Dad, the conflict they had with her parents?"

A distant memory briefly appeared in my head. It was hazy and broken, preventing me from remembering much from it. All I could pull from my memory was her promise to me that she would not dare place such a burden on me, even if generations before us had done it before to determine the strength of the emotional bonds between the daughters and their partners of choice. However, the memory only added fuel to the flames, and it burned away almost instantaneously.

"You promised me…" I started. "You promised me that you wouldn't do such a thing, yet here we are now!"

"Ai-chan… Please try to understand from our perspective…" my father tried to reason. "We weren't planning on doing anything until we deduced Kirigaya-kun and Mortifer-kun to be the same person. To see so many lives lost all because of one person… We didn't want you to be near any kind of danger like that unless you wholeheartedly believed that he was the one. We honestly thought it would be better for you if he wasn't by your side…"

"Just because you're my parents doesn't mean you guys know everything about me! How did it not come to your mind early on that our feelings for each other were strong and real?! We almost died because of you two!"

"Ai-sama," Nagato also jumped in, approaching me with his hands out as if trying to calm a beast. "Your mother and father already know this. Please do not make this harder for them."

"And why should I listen to you?! How come you're showing sympathy for them, yet you showed no sympathy to me or Katsumoto?!"

"I… I wanted to…" he said as he slowed to a stop. "The amount of remorse I feel right now… I don't have the ability to explain it in words. There was never a second during my time monitoring you in-game where I enjoyed doing what I had been commanded to do. I had to disable my own emotional connection to the AmuSphere to prevent myself from showing any tears. I truly am sorry Ai-sama… Please forgive me…"

Nagato broke down into tears, and a sense of guilt started to build up inside of me. Hitori's face was filled with hurt, and he couldn't help but look at the ground to hide his pain. My mother, drowning in her tears, had to sit herself down with my father by her side. My rage continued to burn on the inside, but, despite its warmth, the touch of Katsumoto's hand cooled my anger.

"I have no right to say anything like this. In fact, I don't even believe my own words fully… But… Violet…" Katsumoto spoke quietly, using my in-game name. "Even I have to agree with your parents. Being with me is dangerous. There's no doubt about that. Even so, I want to spend my life with you, and you feel the same. We've been given the opportunity, so please…"

Katsumoto trapped me in a heart-warming embrace, and all of my anger and frustration disappeared in an instant. My muscles relaxed in the soothing heat, and I found myself starting to tear up. My legs grew weak as all I wanted was to forever be engulfed in the warmth of Katsumoto's body. I fell to my knees, and Katsumoto did the same so that our embrace would not be broken. I found my arms wrapping around his body as well. The nightmare that I had been living for these past few months… It was finally coming to an end.

"You guys are so mean…"

I couldn't stop the tears from flowing out, nor my cries from echoing across the mountains. The entire experience reminded me of the time I thought Katsumoto had died in the collapse of the Cave. Back then, I held what little remains we could recover. I was filled with so much grief and sorrow at that time holding his belongings, yet I was crying even more when I had his entire being in my reach. I hated my family for making me go through that experience. I hated Nagato for obeying their orders, causing both me and Katsumoto grievous emotional pain. I hated Vitushi for telling them in the first place. And most of all, I hated Katsumoto for making me think everything was over, killing me in-game and breaking my heart. But…

I couldn't help but love the family that has cared for me ever since I was born. My parents gave birth to me, fed me, gave me a home, and supported me. My brother helped me with my English homework, made me laugh and introduced me to the realm of virtual reality. Nagato took care of me when my family wasn't there, and protected me from all the times I needed him to. Vitushi, while annoying, always kept finding ways to cheer me up, and made family reunions more exciting with his clumsy and goofy personality. And Katsumoto...

Whenever I felt lonely, he stood by my side. Whenever I felt scared, he protected me from my terrors. Whenever I was overwhelmed with my problems, he supported me. And, whenever I was on the brink of death, he saved me. Two years ago on that fateful night was when I fell in love at first sight. Was it coincidence or was it destiny? I didn't know the answer to it back then, but because it accumulated to this, I couldn't believe in anything else other than destiny.

"You know…" Katsumoto whispered softly into my ears. His voice sounded so fragile and weak, almost like he was scared. "I did actually have suicidal thoughts even before I met you."

The statement reached my ears and affected me enough to stop my sobbing, but not my tears from flowing.

"I was just so sick of living in such a cruel world that I saw no point in continuing to live. However, the only reason why I never came close to attempting it is because I held on to two final hopes. My hope to experience a completely new and different world, as well as my hope for finding true love. I didn't think I'd ever find true love before I met you. It was just something so foreign and surreal for me in the past that I couldn't even fathom why someone would love someone like me. As for experiencing a new world, I thought it was even more impossible than finding true love, yet I found it first. Those seeds of desire I tried blooming in an impossible dream finally yielded fruits of hope. I couldn't have asked for a better life. But right now, this life of mine is still incomplete, as you have yet to become a permanent part of it. So, Yuzuki Ai… Will you marry me?"

"Of course… Dummy…"

* * *

 **(Kazuto)**

 **Several hours later, Night, Kirigaya family home in Kawagoe**

"Katsu-nii! Dinner's ready!" I shouted from the dining room as I set down our three plates on the table.

To celebrate his release from the hospital, Suguha and I made a joint effort to prepare a nice dinner for all of us. Along with Katsumoto's favorite spicy beef curry, we prepared teriyaki chicken and omurice for me and Suguha respectively. We cooked an extra half pot of rice since both Suguha and I were very hungry, and I assumed the same for my brother as he had been sleeping all day. I set down the plates of food while Suguha fetched the rice bowl. I hurried over to the sink to wash my hands, and sat down with Suguha to wait for Katsumoto. We waited for around half a minute before I called out to him again.

"Katsu-nii! Wake up! You've been sleeping for more than twelve hours!"

Another thirty seconds of silence passed before I stood up from my chair and impatiently stormed my way upstairs. I ran up the steps to the second floor and down the hallway, passing by Suguha's room in the process. I stopped in front of my brother's bedroom door and, without hesitation, burst open the door.

The room was clean of the mess my brother created weeks ago, but contrary to my expectations, I didn't see him. His bed was neatly made and his workspace cleared of dust. His computer and monitors were turned off, but my eye caught a piece of notebook paper sitting on his desk in front of the monitors. The notebook it came from rested next to the sheet of paper, still open and slightly disfigured as if he crushed it. The notebook paper contained a few lines of writing which I began to read.

 _This is Katsumoto. I'll be staying in Kyoto for the next several days for reasons you will soon understand. Turn on my computer and open up the files for the security feed. The folder is in my desktop's top left corner. Watch today's security feed at around 10 AM and you'll see. I've been given a second chance._

When I looked back at the desk, I found a picture frame of Yuzuki Ai where the note was originally located. It must've been underneath the note since I didn't see it before. As I put the note and the picture together, my heart started to beat faster as I quickly turned on his computer and sat in his chair. The computer was sleeping, so I didn't need to wait for a long boot-up sequence. I found the file directory to the security cameras he set up around the house and quickly played the file for today. I replayed the feed all the way to the indicated time and found myself looking at Katsumoto surrounded by several cops with the Yuzuki family standing in front of him. He had a sword pointed towards Ai's father, confusing me as to why he said he was given a second chance if he did such a thing.

Curious, I fast-forwarded and watched as Ai's parents entered our home before finally bowing down to Katsumoto. I slowed down the security feed and watched the entire situation play out. As I watched the silent feed, tears slowly formed in my eyes, and they streamed down my cheek when I saw Ai's mother give my brother a ring. I was so concentrated on the scene that I didn't notice Suguha had snuck up behind me, also watching the video. She touched my shoulder, scaring me momentarily. She too had tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. We then watched as my brother quickly scribbled down the note he left before speeding away in his car with the police escorting him.

"Why do you think they changed their minds, even after through all of this?" Suguha sobbed.

"I don't know… But, all that matters is that they gave him a chance. Let's just hope for the best. In the meantime, we should tell everyone."

I pulled out my phone and entered the massive group chat that everyone except Katsumoto and Ai was in. With shaky hands and teary eyes, I sloppily inputted a simple, yet powerful message into the group chat along with a picture of the note, Ai's picture frame, and the security feed. My message read:

Miracles do happen…

* * *

 **Author's Note (EDIT)**

The next part, **Chapter 9: 7,000 Gems of Unity & Memory**, will be broken down into multiple parts for the sake of not publishing anything for several months straight. Once the chapter is complete, I will combine all parts to form one complete section. I will try my best to post the chapters bi-weekly but don't expect each section to be as long as normal chapters. There is a reason why I take months to write chapters with at least 10k words in them.


	10. Chapter 9-1: 7k Gems of Unity & Memory

**(Katsumoto)**

 **The next day, Yuzuki family home in Kyoto,**

"Five wishes?" I repeated Shitori's words.

"Yes. I'll grant you five wishes, within reason of course," he told me. "I do have one condition. One of your wishes has to be something for both you and my daughter. Whether it is an expensive trip to a different country, or even your own home to live in, we'll do all we can to supply it."

"A house? You trust me that much now, Otou-san?"

"If I didn't trust those words you told us yesterday, you would likely be in jail Katsumoto-kun while I'm buried underground," Shitori jested, laughing while doing so. "But yes, if you so wish to have a house, then I shall grant you two a private living space wherever you want, though it has to be within the country. My sphere of influence only reaches only from Okinawa to Hokkaido, as well as some parts in western United States. The Ymir corporation has grown astonishingly with the help of the people who gave us the funds to run ALfheim Online. In the future, we are hoping to merge with RECT Inc."

"RECT?" I asked, curious as to why he had interest in the Yuuki family's industry.

"Yes. With the large quantity of lawsuits and hatred they are receiving for the damages they caused with ALO, they have lost quite a lot of money. Their former investors switched over to us, but they too recognize RECT's value, which is why the corporation has already begun negotiations with them. Ai-chan's relationship to Asuna-chan is helping quite well as I can speak directly to her father, the former CEO of RECT."

"I never actually bothered to look it up, but what does the Ymir corporation do other than run the servers ALfheim Online?"

"Ymir is actually a conglomerate much like RECT, as we have several divisions based on goods and services. Our main branch here in Japan is under my supervision while the smaller one in the United States is still under development. I supervise all of our subdivisions, which include medicine, defense contracting, technology development and the game development. Other than our game development branch, which only focuses on maintaining ALfheim Online, our medicine branch is our fastest growing. However, most of our income comes from our defense contracting branch, the original company owned by the Yuzuki family."

"I knew the company was huge, but I didn't expect anything of that scale," I said in awe.

"Yes, but we still have many more obstacles to overcome if we wish to expand. One obstacle includes a certain company called Rath. It's a rather mysterious company as we only discovered it recently in the last year, but it seems they are our most dangerous rival when it comes to our defense contracting branch. Our lack of information is proving to be quite costly, as we do not know of the technologies and resources they possess."

"Never heard of that company before, but they sound a bit skeptical being so hidden, especially as a defense contractor… Isn't the United States and United Nations already giving Japanese defense contractors a hard time with the demilitarization after World War 2? If so, Rath should be very careful or they will suffer greatly."

"It's not just them who will suffer. If Rath or any defense contractor based in Japan produces any sort of offensive weaponry, there will be collateral damage that surges through the rest of the industry and even the government. To be honest, it is solely because of this reason why they're our most dangerous rival."

"Sounds real tough to run a business like yours. I could never possibly be the leader of something like that," I stated in amazement.

"I was hoping my daughter would choose a partner fit for becoming the heir to the company, and if she didn't choose a partner at all, I would've chosen one for her that fits my tastes."

"You must be very disappointed then," I laughed out.

"Who knows? Maybe I could train you."

"Sorry, but I really don't think I'm suited for such a position. Anyways, these wishes of mine… Can they be something inside of ALfheim Online?"

Shitori furrowed his brow and tilted his head slightly as if silently asking me to make sure he was hearing right. I repeated my words more slowly again and he snorted before laughing. His laughter was clearly towards my request of an in-game wish, but I didn't take any offense to it as I knew it was a weird wish to ask for. He was laughing so hard that he clutched his stomach before wiping the small tear that formed in his right eye.

"I was worrying that you'd make some expensive requests, but now I'm worrying as to how much time you'll be spending in the virtual world compared to the real one!"

"If I didn't need to eat, drink or go to the bathroom, I would spend all my life inside the virtual world," I laughed out lightly.

"Speaking of which, I do have some conditions for you in order to get these wishes in the first place, and because i've gotten to know you a little bit more in these past few days, you may not like it…"

Shitori quickly went from a happy, relaxed tone to that of a serious business man. Shitori turned his head from the rural Kyoto view to face me directly. He was no longer leaning on the guardrail, but he still hand one hand rested on it. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a card. He handed it to me and I flipped it over to read its contents. Upon reading the word therapist, I knew right away what he wanted me to do, and I indeed didn't want anything to do with it.

"That person is my family's personal therapist. He also works together with our doctor, dentist and psychiatrist so that communication between them is solid. Other than the doctor and dentist, our family saw no need of them until now. Ai-chan has already agreed to periodically visiting the therapist once every two months, but we went through quite a struggle persuading her to do so. I know you had a mental health counselor during your time in the hospital, and we've received the information he's gathered, as well as some supplementary information from Ai-chan and Vitushi-kun. I hope you are aware of your diagnosed illnesses."

"Depression, PTSD, schizophrenia, and nightmares disorder. While those are the fully confirmed illnesses, it's likely I have dissociative personality disorder and dependent personality disorder. I'm also vulnerable to psychosis, explosive outbursts, panic attacks, and paranoia. Quite the list, isn't it?"

"Ai-chan did not get a full diagnosis of any mental illnesses or disorders, but she has a minor case of dependent personality disorder like you. Because of that diagnosis, both Alluka and I felt even more guilty about putting you guys through that whole experience. We never really valued mental health until now, even with our own depressive episode between Alluka's parents. Thankfully, mental health counseling has improved greatly over the years, and now we've found a great use for it."

"Even if I choose to accept to visit this therapist of yours every so often, I still have my doubts as to whether or not it will doing anything of benefit. If there's one thing you really need to know about me, it's the fact that both my mind and body can be extremely stubborn to change."

"We all have human traits in all of us, no matter how different we are from each other. Human stubbornness is the double-edged sword we've wielded since ancient times. I hope you will learn how to wield such a dangerous blade, in time."

"You're quite a philosopher, unlike your daughter," I lightly laughed out. Shitori smiled back, allowing me to see the extents of which I can jest with him.

"Ai-chan is much like her mother. They have their periods of brilliance, but most of the time their brains enjoy not being too stressed out about such thoughts. In fact, I too think I need to take a break from this conversation. This supposed vacation of mine wasn't planned, so my wife and I cannot stay here in Kyoto for much longer. We'll take our leave tomorrow morning, and I suggest you two do the same. The message you left will surely stir up quite a commotion amongst your friends back home."

"Oh trust me, it has. I've received a hundred text messages from my friends overnight. I haven't checked them since this morning, but I'm confident there will be at least a hundred more now that people are awake. I caused them great distress when I attempted suicide, so i'd rather not tell them that Ai attempted it as well."

"Likewise," Shitori agreed. "I'll try my best to keep it a secret, but you should persuade Ai-chan to do the same, for the sake of your friends."

"Well, I'm confident she's smart enough to not need any kind of persuading, considering she kept me hidden for so long, but i'll make sure nothing will happen," I assured him.

"Well," Shitori said as he took a big whiff of the wet summer air. "I'll take my leave then."

"Oh, before you go…" I quickly interrupted his departure. "Yuzuki is your wife's name, is it not?"

"Yes, it is."

"May I ask what is your name then?"

"Watanabe. Is that all?"

"Yeah… Thanks..."

Ai's father pushed himself away from the railing and walked through the beautiful garden before retreating into the protection of his home. I remained standing beside the railing, absorbing both the sunlight and the breathtaking view in front of me. The rain from yesterday had already dried up, making the somber appearance of the garden transform into a more peaceful one. However, the view couldn't entirely be peaceful due to the sheer cliff right below my feet. The memory of yesterday echoed in my mind, and I quickly brushed it aside before the Voices could make me hallucinate anything dark. Whoever built this home clearly didn't account for any safety hazards, or for anybody who suffered acrophobia.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, breaking me from my train of thought. I looked to see that I had received a text message from Ai, and it simply read:

"Come to my room. I want to talk about something."

Without questioning her reasoning, I put my phone back into my pocket and made my way towards the house. I passed by several patches of various flowers and walked underneath a roof of cherry blossom and magnolia trees, making me wonder as to how they managed to fit in so many trees in such a small space. I walked over the koi pond, admiring the small kois swimming underneath the surface of the water. I stepped onto the back porch, removing my outdoor footwear for my uwabakis. I traversed through the highly decorated corridors of the massive house, passing by multiple vacant bedrooms. Some of them still had remnants of the Yuzuki family reunion, as clothes, shoes and drinks were left behind by the occupant families.

Ai's family was considered the main branch of the fairly large Yuzuki family as they were the only ones who continued to pass down the name. Because of that, they received the biggest room in the house. Each of the smaller rooms matched the size of Ai's bedroom back in Setagaya, but the main branch's bedroom was a house all in itself. It had all the commodities a household needs: kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, everything. The so-called "bedroom" had two stories to it, with all the smaller bedrooms on the upper floor. I passed by Nagato, who was in the kitchen preparing our lunch meal for later, though the butler didn't notice me due to my quietness. I walked through the living room and made my way upstairs, heading towards Ai's open bedroom door. I entered its threshold, closing the door behind me and startling Ai, who was looking out the window at the time. She was wearing a loose-fitting white shirt at least two sizes bigger than her usual shirts. It was large enough to cover most of her black hotpants, but I could still see the black denim peeking out underneath.

"Jeez… Even in the real world you move around so quietly," Ai yelped.

"Sorry. Can't help it. Maybe I should wear a bell around my neck for everyone's sake."

"Hah… Not a bad idea, but I think that's too much."

"Anyways, what did you want to talk about?"

"Come sit down first," she asked of me as she proceeded to sit down on her bed, facing the window. She pat the area right next to her, and I obeyed her wishes. The moment I sat down on the bed, she leaned her head against my shoulder and wrapped her arms around one of mine.

"Something wrong?"

"No… Nothing's wrong…" she reassured me. "I was just wondering if we should go somewhere before the summer break ends. Somewhere nice and isolated, kind of like the 47th Floor of SAO."

"Even if we could go to a place as beautiful as that, don't you have school activities to take care of during the break?"

"Well… Because of that whole drama I caused during the final exams, I relinquished my student council position. Even if I didn't, I would've probably been forced out of it. Mother forced me to retake my exams before I came here to stay for the summer. As for my homework, you can help me out during our vacation."

"I think I've had enough of school work recently… I spent hours helping everyone else study for their own final exams while I was doing my rehab. And with all of the stuff regarding our relationship, my brain wants to take a good rest. A vacation to some place nice is indeed something we both need."

"Got any plans in mind?"

"Actually…" I spoke as I took out my phone. I unlocked my phone and searched through my junk-filled inbox to find the email I received yesterday. I showed Ai the email and she began reading its contents. Her face expressed her curiosity as clear as day, as I had never talked about this person with her before.

"Who is he? It's a he right?"

"Don't worry… It's a guy. His name is Vincent. He and I used to go to school together several years ago. After a certain tragedy, he was forced to return to his home country and live with his grandparents."

"Not trying to be rude or anything, but what exactly does this have to do with our vacation?"

"Fortunately, I can kill two birds with one stone. Vincent was born and raised in the Philippines before he moved here to Japan during his first year in junior high school. He takes great pride in his homeland, and he used to tell me countless stories about all the fun and wonderful experiences he had there. Last night, I was actually looking up some stuff about it and figured it might be a nice place for a honeymoon."

"Philippines? Where is that again?"

"It's southwest of Japan, between Indonesia and Taiwan. I don't remember too much about it, despite the hours of information Vincent told me about his homeland. He was quite passionate about his home country, but it was so long ago I don't remember, Frankly, I don't think I cared enough to listen to him… And he considered me his best friend…"

"Was he your best friend?" she asked.

"In a sense, yes. Before I met you, he was my closest friend, and the person who came closest to changing who I was back then. In fact, if it wasn't for our separation, he would've succeeded, and he may have even joined SAO with me."

"Now I'm more interested in going. Did you tell my father yet?"

"No, not yet. I only recently learned of the five wishes your father granted me. Since we're going on this trip, I may as well use one of those wishes to spend some time with you, away from all this."

"We can go talk to him later. You should contact your friend too. Get some more information from him so we know how things work over there."

"Will do," I said as I stood up from the bed. I was about to walk off before Ai pulled me back down with enough force to make me fall on my back.

"I didn't say you could leave…" she scolded me before proceeding to get on top of me, effectively pinning me to the mattress. "You can't just leave me here alone after I went through the effort of bringing you here."

"You texted me to come here… It's not like you had to walk as I did."

"Oh just shut up…"

Ai grabbed my face with both her hands and planted her lips against my own. She was kissing me with such great passion, but I didn't return as much back as my anxiety was continuously growing. All I could think about was someone walking through those doors right now and catching us in the middle of our make-out session. The reconciliation happened yesterday, so I felt awkward doing such a thing with Ai so quickly. In fact, it's been a long time since we ever kissed like this, excluding the time we spent separated from each other from the whole fiasco. Ai noticed this, and grunted heavily as she stopped our kissing.

"Why are you being like this?" she pouted.

"I just think its still a bit too early for us to be doing this."

"We've known each other for two and a half years. We married in-game and acted like a real couple in SAO. It's been a long time since we did something like this. You're starting to make me jealous of the relationship Midori-chan and Ryu-kun are having. I want to kiss and hug you too you know…"

I saw how hurt she was from my rejection of her motives, and so I placed a hand on her cheek for reassurance. I was still surprised as to how a girl like Ai, who typically shows innocence, could express such hunger. I couldn't really blame her because I too longed for the comfort intimacy brings me. Using my body, I pushed up against her, causing her to roll over her back and allowing me to get on top. I quickly kissed her on the lips for a few seconds before breaking away to tell her:

"If we get caught, I'm telling them you started it."

 **(Mortifer)**

 **A few days later in the weekend, 9 PM,** **«Yggdrasil City»**

While browsing through the Internet, I remembered finding something about this western holiday called Thanksgiving, where people express their gratitude while eating extreme amounts of food. I knew of the Labor Thanksgiving Day that Japan has, but I didn't know about this other one. Since Violet and I returned from Kyoto with our relationship back together, our group of friends decided to host our very own western Thanksgiving party as a celebration and a way to reconcile.

I was planning on inviting all of the Lords except Mortimer, but I decided against it and only invited Sakuya, Alicia and Silver. Leafa had already informed them of the situation we were in during the time when I sent the Sylph and Cait Sith Lords the invitation. According to my sister, they were overwhelmed about the sudden revelation and quickly realized why I was being so demanding to them at the time. They apologized to me profusely as they didn't know our situation and because they were too busy to attend our party.

As for Violet's brother, Silver had a hard time accommodating himself since ViVi was present as well as the rest of the group. Silver betrayed ViVi by revealing my relationship with Violet, and the betrayal caused the group a great deal of emotional pain. Not only that, but ViVi still suffered from the words Violet told him that day, and she couldn't muster up the courage to apologize. She was felt so guilty about what she did that she asked me for help, though I redirected her to Asuna since I was the last person she should ask for apology tutoring. I saw them step outside for a bit, making me assume Violet was having a private conversation with him. They returned in a few minutes, and I caught a glimpse of the reddened eyes and wet cheeks of ViVi—remnants of crying.

The moment the clock rang the ninth hour, everyone gathered around the table for the feast. With the help of Agil and Cayonz, Violet and Asuna set down all of the food they prepared on the table. While the two girls were extremely tired from cooking several hours straight, they were proud of what they accomplished.. Along with the traditional Japanese sushi, gyoza and yakitori, an entire oven-roast American turkey sat in the middle of the table along with Korean bulgogi, Russian beef stroganoff, Spanish seafood paella, South African boerewors sausage, Mexican al pastor, Brazilian pão de queijo, Swedish laxpudding, and finally Egyptian shawarma. It was by far the biggest and most diverse feast I've ever seen, and everyone was eager to get a bite. Before we could eat however, Asuna stood up on a chair for everyone to see.

"I would like to thank everyone for being here today." Asuna gleefully spoke. "I know you guys can't wait to eat the food, but first I would like to introduce to everyone Violet's brother, Silver, the Lord of the Leprechauns,"

Everyone turned their heads to the Leprechaun Lord. While some people like Paradox, Konno and Trish greeted him with friendly smiles, everyone else wasn't so nice as they knew he was the one who told Violet's parents about my relationship with her. ViVi couldn't even look his cousin in the eye, either because he felt betrayed or still couldn't forgive himself for what happened.

"H-Hi… I'm Onii-chan's younger brother. My name is Yuzuki Hitori. I'm sorry for all the troubles I have caused," Silver nervously greeted us. Now that I think about it, his personality in-game back when we first met was completely different from what he was like now. The loud-mouthed Silver I met back then hadn't spoken a word in the entire party till now. "I don't expect to be forgiven, and if you want to beat me up then I am prepared."

Silver bowed his head down and placed his hands behind his back. He was trying to prepare himself for the beating he was suspecting, but he could not hide his worried face, even underneath his long hair.

Everyone turned their heads towards Violet to seek guidance, but she closed her eyes and maintained a blank expression on her face, telling us that we had to decide for ourselves. Asuna stepped down from her chair and moved to Kirito to whisper into his ear. Nobody made a move for a while until Zed approached Silver. The boy noticed his approach and his whole body started shaking out of fear of Zed. However, instead of throttling Violet's brother, Zed grabbed Silver's head from the top with his right hand and made the Leprechaun look straight at him. He then took both of his hands, grabbed both edges of Silver's lips and stretched them into a deformed smile, causing Silver great discomfort.

"Smile, dumbass," he commanded the Leprechaun Lord, catching Silver off-guard from his profanity. "After all we've been through these past few months, I've had enough of people always sulking around. I hereby ban sulking in this household. No exceptions."

"Hey! Where is my say in this?" Paradox pouted, putting her hands on her hips.

Because of Zed's method of lightening the mood, I couldn't help but laugh at his attempt as he was being scowled by Paradox. My laughing seemed to be contagious as everyone else joined in on the laughter. Even ViVi found himself smiling slightly. Only Silver remained composed, mostly due to the unexpected reaction he got from Zed. Violet reassured her brother with a pat on the back, and motioned for him to take a sip from his mug. Because he hesitated, Violet showed him that there was nothing to fear when she too took a swig of the virtual ale inside of the mug. The happiness displayed on her face eased Silver's anxiety, and he too took a sip of the fake alcohol.

"Cheers to a new beginning!" Asuna shouted. In unison, we all yelled in response:

"Kanpai!"

Everyone, even Trish and Silica, the youngest of the bunch at fifteen and fourteen respectively, drank some of the magical ale only to spit it out right away. They weren't the only ones as Lizbeth, Konno and ViVi also spat out the ale. They complained about the terrible taste of the alcohol, but Rizer informed them that almost all alcoholic drinks tasted like that. Of that group, only Konno decided to keep drinking, making me suspect he either wanted to get accustomed to the taste, or so he could better fit in with Zed.

"Well… It tastes better than the rum we had back then," Paradox coughed out.

"You should really start buying some better tasting alcohol Rizer," I told him as I swirled the drink around my cup, trying to get used to the taste.

"NPC vendors don't have a review history you know," Rizer complained. "Plus, if we really wanted to try out some good tasting alcohol, shouldn't Paradox be making them for us with her «Completed» «Mixing»?"

"No way am I going to brew alcohol for you guys! My vials are for medicinal purposes only!"

"Yet you're called _Poison_ and brew paralysis poisons potent enough to down me for five minutes," Rizer jested.

"Hey, there are some poisons out there that can heal people," Zed spoke up as he grabbed Paradox by the waist, pulling her very close to his body. "You just need to know which ones are good, and which ones are bad. I've found mine right here."

A sudden kiss on the lips startled Paradox, whose eyes remained open for a few seconds. She glanced at us, showing her surprise before yielding to Zed's advance. Many of us rolled our eyes from the sight, but we simply shrugged it off and let them continue. While ViVi, Trish, Lizbeth, and Silica took their seats on the table, everyone else finished with their serving of ale before following their lead. As soon as Zed and Paradox sat themselves down, the food frenzy commenced. While every dish of the feast was delicious, we all found one dish we adored more than the rest. Seeing the joyous faces of everyone, I was even more grateful for Violet and Asuna's hard work while also feeling bad for asking Violet to recreate my favorite spicy beef curry when she and Asuna already had so much stuff to do.

As we all celebrated a new beginning for me and Violet, I noticed Silver sitting on my left shedding a single tear that streamed down his cheek. He noticed his first tear and tried to wipe it away, but more tears soon started to form. Embarrassed, he stood up from his seat without catching anyone's attention but mine and Violet's. Violet, who was at the opposite head of the table persuaded me with puppy eyes to go check on Silver, and I obliged. I stood up from my seat and tended to Silver, who had exited through the front door. I opened the door and shut it behind me. When I turned around to greet Silver he wasn't there. Before I called out for his name, I heard someone sobbing above me. I materialized my wings and slowly ascended to meet Silver at the rooftop.

"When I found out that Onee-chan got trapped inside of SAO, I was so mad at myself for allowing her to play on my NerveGear…" Silver spoke softly. "My family kept on telling me that it wasn't my fault, but if I just didn't allow her to do so, or if I had taken the NerveGear with me, she wouldn't have been stuck in that death game. But now, after seeing her with her friends, and you especially… I've been starting to wonder… Would she have been this happy if she wasn't in SAO? Would she have ever met you if it weren't for SAO?"

"I'm not one to say this, but you should stop dwelling on the past. Live in the present," I told him as I sat down next to the Leprechaun Lord. "Push on ahead towards the future, no matter how terrible it will be."

"Yeah, but… How were you able to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Attempt suicide."

When the words reached my head, I then realized just how much Violet's brother had been beating himself up. Not only did he feel guilty of getting Violet trapped in SAO, but he felt guilty of informing his parents about my existence, which almost led to our demise. I didn't know what else to tell him except for my answer to his question.

"For me, it was quite the spur of the moment. When my emotions take over, I have no self-control. If my mind tells me to do something, no matter how stupid it is, I won't be able to stop myself from following through. If you want to talk about the courage of attempting it, then you should ask your own sister. She told me she was planning hers as soon as I let go of her that day you Lords sent me to assassinate Mortimer."

"Then… Would you do it again, if you were put into the same situation?"

"I don't know… If you're planning on doing it, but still seek help from yourself, I'm really not the right person to talk to. But… If you want a recommendation to someone other than some professional therapist, then first I suggest you speak with ViVi. Your sister hurt his feelings quite terribly that day, telling him that nobody enjoyed being with him and that you guys only liked him out of pity. You betrayed his trust, and he suffered a great deal of emotional pain because of it. Reconcile with him, then go to your sister."

"Easier said than done…" Silver muttered out.

"That's exactly why it's so hard for people to get out of periods like this. We seek help and salvation, yet we're scared to talk about it. We slowly suffocate in our own grasp before we are either saved or found dead. I despise people who think their suffering is worse than others when they don't know what others have been through. Even so, that doesn't stop me from being hypocritical and declaring to others that I have suffered far more than they have. Compared to mine, your problems are nothing. I don't even have to remind myself of all the sins I've committed in this life of mine."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know exactly how it works, but if it does, then be ready."

I grabbed Silver by his head and butted it against my own, surprising the kid. I placed my free hand on his shoulder, expressing my need for him to be calm. Once he relaxed, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I willingly delved deep into my head and reached into the darkness deep inside it. I pictured myself grabbing at the Voices from underneath a black sea, and I dragged them from its dark waters and into plain sight. The Voices, which had been a very distant whisper ever since I reunited with Violet, became highly audible. My head burned from the shouting and crying, but I endured. From all of the Voices inside of my head, I reached for one specific Voice and imagined it traveling down a wire that connected into Silver's brain. When I was done uploading the image into his head, I opened my eyes to see his own eyes wide open as if in shock. He backed away from me, removing our connection. His face displayed unparalleled horror. However, the horror he expressed wasn't because of me, but because of what I had shown him.

"Onee-chan… That was her, wasn't it?" he questioned. I turned my head away but still gave a nod in response.

"There are many more of those, and I can share these Voices in the real world too. Being able to share my pain with people like that is so strange. It's like I have magical powers that break the boundaries of science and reality. Either way, this is the life I have to live till the day I die."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. This curse of mine has nothing to do with you. I'm just trying to show you that everyone else is struggling to survive in this world, some more so than others. If I can do it, then I am confident you can as well. So, come on. Let's go back inside."

For several seconds, Silver gave no reaction. After looking up at the starry night sky, however, he let out a long sigh and stood up. He made the first move and floated down to the doorway below us. I followed closely behind him. We entered through the wooden doorway, and I shut the door behind us to prevent the world from breaking into our tiny bubble.


	11. Chapter 9-2: 7k Gems of Unity & Memory

**Later that night,** **Misty Valley**

A gentle breeze blew through the gorge, making my loose shirt flow in the wind. Everyone had gone offline, allowing me to have some time for myself. And so, I decided to revisit the destruction I caused that day and see if anything was different in the castle. But, I also planned something else in mind.

Other than the significant overgrowth of the invasive plants I added into the valley, much of the place remained the same. The lava that flowed back then solidified into rock, leaving an ugly mess inside and outside of the castle. However, to counteract the ugliness, the fallen seeds of the various magical trees planted more saplings that slightly poked out of the ground due to the accelerated growth rate of plants in ALO. Even though the sight wasn't as clean as before, the natural, overgrown and runic appearance captivated my eyes.

I made my way to the cliffside garden, walking ever so slowly up the long staircase as I wanted to enjoy the view more. The cold stone steps tickled my dirtied feet as I ascended. Upon reaching the top, I observed the pink tree whose flowers were even more vibrant than I remembered. The magical tree, unlike natural trees in the real world, somehow regrew its bark, covering up the carvings I made with my sword that day. The same occurred for its sister tree in the valley below, as it managed to heal even the scorch marks a fire-elemental «Sword Skill» caused. I turned my gaze to the cliffside where I jumped off and saw him sitting on the edge of the cliff. He turned his head around and smiled at me.

"Yo!"

The Spriggan stood up and turned his body towards me. Since he literally joined the game today, he was wearing the most basic of gear given to new players: simple leather armor and a short sword. In no way did he look like how I remembered him back then as the game's avatar creation engine generated a completely random avatar for him. His face greatly resembled his father's while the face I saw back then was his mother's. Unlike the short asymmetrical hairstyle I saw for all the years he was by my side, his avatar's long, straight hair reached down to his shoulders and swayed gently due to the wind. He raised his hand to his face and used his index finger to push up against the bridge of his nose—a habit he gained from years of wearing glasses. Upon touching his nose and realizing the nonexistence of his glasses in-game, he laughed nervously and scratched the top of his head with his right hand.

"Still getting used to this virtual reality stuff... The Internet connection here is bad enough as it is, and having to connect to a server all the way in Japan is extraordinarily difficult. I-I'd rather not spend too long talking to you in-game since the Internet cafe I'm at is super expensive but of good quality. I haven't experienced any lag yet, but I don't want to wait for some spike to happen. I've been using this AmuSphere thing for an hour already, so I can spare two more hours before I need to get off... A-Anyways, how have you been? The last time I saw you, you were being surrounded by your fans and haters alike. Did you go out with any of those girls who fawned over you? Or were you too busy getting beat up by the other students? Oh! Let me guess... A girl that tried to help you out got hurt and then you beat up the attackers in return? That's what happened right?! Heh… Brings back old memories… H-Hey, have you heard of this super competitive shooter-based VRMMORPG called—"

"Even though you weren't good at Japanese to begin with, you still can't keep your mouth shut when you're nervous… That's always been your weird habit, hasn't it, Vincent?"

The Spriggan still had his mouth slightly open from being interrupted, but he soon closed it and formed a smile on his face. With a long sigh, his nervousness seemed to fade away completely. He fixed his posture and put his hands on his pockets. He turned his head towards the moon and stared at in awe.

"I've actually been practicing. I haven't written or read any Japanese in a while, so I'm rusty there. My pronunciation still needs some work but I think I can keep up with you."

"I hope you can. We have a lot of catching up to do. It's been so long… I miss you..."

"You miss me?" Vincent said, perplexed at my words. He walked towards me till he was within arm's reach. He then proceeded to knock on my head as if it were a door "Your avatar seems to be suffering a speech malfunction… After all, there's no way you would ever say those kinds of things to anybody."

"Like I said…" I quickly responded, pushing his hand away after the fourth hit. "We have a lot of catching up to do. Since we're limited on time, how about you tell me what I need to know before I fulfill my promise."

"You're already making plans to come over here? Do you even have the resources to do so?"

"Don't worry about that. I just need to know as much as possible about where we're headed."

"Who's we?"

"My girlfriend and I."

The Spriggan's face lit up with surprise. His mouth dropped open while his already large eyes were opened to its maximum. His open mouth soon formed into a smile and the man started to slowly clap. His claps increased in speed until it was full-on applause.

"I never thought I'd see the day you'd get together with someone," the Spriggan laughed out. "Is she hot and sexy? Or is she more on the cute side? Is she also Japanese, or did you go for some rare foreign lady? How long have you guys been together? Have you two kissed or made out yet? How about sex? Have you done it with her—"

"No!" I quickly answered, stopping him from asking any more uncomfortable questions. "We haven't done it yet… We've known each other for two years and started dating a year and a half ago. Her appearance is beautiful, I guess, and she's Japanese… Jeez, since when did you talk about these things so casually?"

"Well, with all that happened back then, and me moving back to the Philippines, I didn't have that many friends. All the ones I did have back in the Philippines before had moved on or even moved out of the country. A handful went to the United States, trying to get that so-called American dream. If you want the main reason, then it's because I don't have much time, so I'd rather just get straight to the point as soon as possible. Do I bother you with that?"

"No, no, no… You're not bothering me. It's just so unlike you to talk about those kinds of things…"

"What kinds of things?" Vincent asked, smiling mischievously while moving closer in an effort to interrogate me. "I'm me, so I don't get hints. So tell me, what are these kinds of things?"

"Don't tempt me, Vincent," I warned him, knowing his motives for taunting me. "Just because you and I are best friends doesn't mean I can't beat the crap out of you in-game. You may have beaten me in nearly all non-virtual reality video games we played together, but there's no way I'm going to lose in a game like ALfheim Online."

"Ha, that's true," he laughed, backing away and keeping his distance. "When it comes to pure mechanics and micro alone, you have the upper hand, but my long experience gave me the edge on macro. Virtual reality is different since you control the actual avatar itself. From what I've heard, ALO is one of the more hardcore games due to its extreme-skill system that is based on real-life prowess. Your Kyokushin and Kendo experience should be coming in handy for a game like this which is proven by that video of you. Even so, that guy seemed to be strong considering you got beat up so badly. However, I thought there was something fishy going on with your fight since there were times you froze in place."

"About that… The person I was going against was cheating to begin with, otherwise, I wouldn't have had much trouble."

"I figured as much. Ever since that first day of school, I never doubted you."

"Thanks… I guess…"

"Anyways, you said you guys wanted to know as much information as possible about a trip to the Philippines?" he said, going back to the topic I wanted to talk about.

"Yeah… I figured it'll be better if we catch up with each other in the real world, but I wanted to at least see you once, even if it wasn't your actual body."

"Since it's only going to be some information gathering, mind if I log off now and just email you everything you would want to know? I also would like to catch up in the real world rather than in virtual reality, and I don't want to spend more money than I need to."

"Yeah, that's fine…" I told him, though there was a hint of distress in my voice as I didn't really want him to leave either.

"Don't worry Katsumoto. I can wait for you for as long as possible. Just come before I die, okay?" the Spriggan smiled.

He opened his game menu and fiddled with the buttons before finding the logout button. He saluted me goodbye and I waved back in response. He pressed the button and his avatar went slump as the life was sucked out of him. Since the property wasn't a «Safe-Zone Area» or an inn, the avatar remained behind, vulnerable to any attackers. It didn't really matter to him since he wasn't going to come back anyway. Even so, I lifted up the lifeless body and hoisted it over my shoulders. I carried the Spriggan and sat him down against the tree. I sat down with the avatar as well and realized the relaxing comfort the ground around the tree provided. I set my head on a moss-covered root, giving me a thin, but natural pillow for me to rest on. It didn't take long for me to quickly fall asleep next to my best friend's avatar.


	12. Chapter 9-3: 7k Gems of Unity & Memory

**(Ai)**

 **August 2025, Half a week later, Yuzuki family household in Setagaya**

"Did you pack your toiletries already, Ai-chan?" Kyoko asked as she checked my make-up kit for the fifth time in a row.

"Yes, I did," I sighed in response.

"How about a raincoat and an umbrella? It's the rainy season over there and you need to be prepared for tropical storms or even typhoons."

"All of my coats and topwear are in the black bag."

"What about lingerie? Did you pack enough panties, bras, bikinis and stockings for a month?" she asked as she proceeded to check the black bag for confirmation

"Yes! Yes! It's in the brown one!" I quickly answered, annoyed and slightly embarrassed. I would be even more embarrassed if Katsumoto were here to see this. "It's not like i'm going to be changing outfits every hour Kyoko-san. Gosh, you sound more of a mother than my own."

"Why of course! I have raised you since you were a little child, and I have always wanted a daughter. I am happy to have two sons but I always envied your mother for birthing a daughter. Alas, I am too old to have another child. Now, did you pack sunscreen and mosquito repellant? You're going to the beach in a tropical country after all."

"It's in my carry-on," I told her as I started to put on makeup. "Along with all of my identification, tickets and stuff."

"Okay, everything seems to be packed. We wouldn't have to worry so much if you had flown in your father's private jet, but I understand the time constraint you are on," Kyoko sighed in relief as she finished inspecting all of my luggage.

"We got some special seats, so I'm happy. If there was one other thing I would've wanted, then I wished we could stay longer than thirty days. Even if we did manage to get a visa, I would need to be back in Japan before the next term."

"Well, you do need to graduate. Because of the whole SAO incident, you are two years behind your peers. Do you still dream of becoming an artist? Or have you outgrown that and decided to help your family run the company?"

"No, I don't want to be an artist anymore, though I still want to do something creative. As for the company, Hitori-kun is far ahead of me in terms of experience, so it is better for him to inherit the position. Maybe I'll start up some designer brand. I got into making clothes in SAO and got some creative ideas from it."

"Well, you know I'll always be rooting for you, Ai-chan, no matter where your future takes you" Kyoko smiled.

"Thank you, Kyoko-san" I said, smiling back.

I finished with my makeup and proceeded to stuff my kit back into my carry-on. I combed my hair to make myself as presentable as possible and put on my hat. I hung my shades on the collar of my blouse and put on my golden bracelet. I dragged the straps of the carry-on over my shoulders while Kyoko called for Nagato to help her with my luggage. I made my way downstairs, making loud clicks with the heels of my shoes. One of my father's assistants waited for me at the front door and opened it for me. A gust of fresh air blew inside and I stepped out of the threshold of my home. My parents were already waiting for me in the Rolls-Royce, seated in the back. My mom rolled down the window and shouted:

"Hurry up, sweetie! We're running a bit late, and Katsumoto-kun is already waiting for you at the airport!"

"Ehh?! He's already there?!" I exclaimed, shocked at how quickly he got prepared. Then again, he probably doesn't have as much stuff as I do. I broke off into a jog and hurried over to the car.

Nagato and Kyoko also picked up the pace, dragging the luggage bags behind them. My mother opened the car door for me, and I squeezed into the middle seat past her. Nagato started putting the luggage bags inside of the trunk while Kyoko went ahead to start the car. My father's assistant got into the passenger seat of the car and buckled in. When Nagato finished with the bags, he headed over to the driver's seat, kissed Kyoko goodbye, and took the wheels. We all waved Kyoko goodbye, leaving her in the gardens of our property. Nagato drove past the gate which began to close behind us. He turned into the street and started making his way to Narita.

* * *

 **(Katsumoto)**

 **Two hours later, Narita International Airport**

I grew impatient and anxious waiting for Ai since we were running out of time to get to our flight. I already checked-in and gave them my luggage, so there was no turning back for me unless I wanted to lose my belongings. Thankfully, she and her family appeared in the nick of time. I was about to question them as to why it took so long, but I was astonished at Ai's stunning appearance as well as the belongings she had with her. If I was going to summarize her appearance in one word, then the word would be Gucci.

I didn't care too much for designer brands, nor did I get the point of buying them when there are much better deals out there. However, I couldn't deny the fact that Ai looked like a supermodel in her outfit. She wore a black felt hat that had a cat depicted on it. She wore intertwining gold and silver hoop rings that glistened in the light. A pair of aviator glasses hung on the collar of her white button-down blouse, allowing her black leather choker to be more visible to peering eyes. She wore a black skirt held together by a black belt with the Gucci logo depicted on the front. Her legs weren't bare, as she wore tights to cover up her skin. She wore black leather boots that reached up to her ankles. They too had the Gucci logo depicted on the bridge of the foot. On her right shoulder was an intricately designed brown bag which she held onto very tightly. To top it all off, she wore her family's ring on her left ring finger. I was no Gucci fanatic like Ai, but I had no doubt that her outfit costed at least two million Yen.

"Sorry I'm late! Traffic was terrible!" she apologized as she jogged her way to me. Upon reaching me, she took a second to catch her breath and continued. "Did I make you wait long? You know what, don't answer that stupid question… Anyways, how are you doing? You look nice today."

"I'm fine, and thank you," I lied, realizing that I looked lackluster and unkempt next to her. "You're looking very... Gucci today…"

"Oh, this? I was actually debating whether I should've gone with a full Gucci outfit or a full Louis Vuitton outfit. I knew you would wear some unsaturated colors, so I tried matching you. I decided on my Gucci wear since I found it before all my Louis Vuitton clothes. I should really get Kyoko-san to organize my closet… Regardless, it seems I matched up quite well with you, minus the jewelry."

I came to the airport wearing a plain black t-shirt, black jeans and black Timberland boots. I was going to put on my Air Jordan 3, but I wanted to keep my color scheme completely monochrome. The only thing I wore that wasn't fully black was the skull ring on my hand. It was the same skull ring I found in the store in Akihabara. I was planning on using one of my five wishes on it, but when I asked for the ring, Shitori started laughing due to the "absurdly low" price of nearly four-hundred-thousand Yen. He bought the ring for me without expending one of my wishes since the wish was apparently "not fun". I fought against Heathcliff, Oberon and a cheating Eugene, but none of them made me feel as insignificant as my future father-in-law at that moment.

I became so conscious of my social status, history and wealth that I repeatedly questioned if I was dreaming or not. Thankfully, Shitori apologized to me soon afterwards and tells me that he too was poor like me. He only managed to inherit the President position after the most rigorous training given to him by the former President Yuzuki Goro, Ai's late grandfather who passed away during our time in SAO. Not only did he get training from the former President, the former executives and board members assisted him in his growth as well, making him the third generation of Yuzukis to be holding the position since its creation in 1960. The line of Yuzukis don't seem to be stopping either as Hitori was on the road to doing so, though the trend of the son-in-law adopting the company was broken by me.

"That's a beautiful ring you have there," Ai complemented as she grabbed my right hand to examine the ring. "It suits you perfectly."

"And everything you're wearing right now is perfect. Your hair too."

Due to all the events of the previous months as well as helping me cope with my identity crisis, Ai decided to detach a bit from her Violet persona in the real world by removing all traces of her purple hair. The only thing left now was her smooth, jet black hair. She combed her hand through her hair and moved any stray bits behind her shoulder.

"Ai-chan, let's hurry up and check-in your luggage!" Alluka hurried her.

"Okay! Be right back!"

Alluka and Ai ran over to the baggage check-in with Nagato and Shitori's assistant following behind them. My father-in-law watched them with a smile on his face before approaching me.

"You remember our deal right?" he asked me.

"Don't worry. You can trust me to keep her safe," I reassured him.

"No, not that. I trust you in that one. Just make sure she's happy. This is her first time going out of the country, and to one that isn't so… developed… She lacks certain home economic skills that is also absent in many of the upper class society due to having assistants like Nagato and Kyoko. She can cook but that's about it."

"I think I got that covered too. I've been doing nearly all the housework ever since I got out of rehab from the SAO incident. Having to take care of myself and two younger siblings forces you to be knowledgeable in that kind of stuff."

"Ha… I guess so…" he laughed out before taking out his wallet. He took out a grey debit card as well as a wad of unfamiliar paper currency. "These are United States Dollar bills. This should be around a thousand Dollars, or a little over a hundred-thousand Yen. Each bill is a hundred, so you're probably going to want to exchange them for much smaller quantities. If you need anymore cash, just go to an ATM over there and use this card. It has around ten million Yen, though I highly doubt you'll use all of it."

My jaw dropped at the amount of money I was just handed. Not only was it dangerous for me to be carrying around this amount of cash, but he had given it to me so nonchalantly that I questioned whether he even cared for the safety of his own money. Was the Yuzuki family rich enough to not care about this much money, or did he just trust me enough for me to carry this much? I couldn't tell at all from his face, as the only thing I saw was the joy he was experiencing from seeing Ai so eager to go on a vacation with me.

"Okay! Let's go Katsumoto!" Ai shouted across the area without regard of anybody else hearing. She slowly made her way towards me as she struggled to stuff her travel documents in her bag.

"I guess this is goodbye," Shitori declared.

"You two better return safely! This whole trip was basically an impromptu vacation for the both of you," Alluka explained as she approached me. "You have a place to stay, right?"

"Relax Okaa-san. While you guys were doing all of the immigration stuff, I was planning out the vacation with a friend who lives in the country. I have most of the trip planned out. I left some spaces open for other opportunities. I swear on my life that I will make sure your daughter has a great time."

"Good…" Shitori said, patting me on the shoulder.

"Come on, we're going to be late!" Ai exclaimed as she grabbed my arm and started dragging me across the airport.

"You're not one to talk!" I snapped back as I caught my footing and kept up with her pace.

"Kirigaya-kun!" Alluka shouted from a great distance away. I tried stopping so that I could hear her fine, but Ai seemed overly eager to leave Japan. "Just in case—want to—our permission!"

"What?!" I yelled back in response, unable to hear her clearly from our all the background noise.

"You have our permission!" Shitori shouted even louder, catching the eyes of some employees, though they ignored us.

I repeated his words in my head, not fully understanding what they meant by their permission. However, when I saw Shitori winking at me and Alluka giggling to herself, I realized what they meant, and I felt my face flush with absolute embarrassment. I looked at Ai momentarily and looked away almost immediately from becoming even more embarrassed. While I knew I wouldn't have been the only person in this world who gets embarrassed from receiving direct permission from the parents, at that moment I felt like I was the only one. Her family really did know how to make me feel insignificant.

* * *

 **An hour later, inside the airplane**

I've never flown in an airplane, nor have I ever gone out of the country. The furthest I've gone from my home in Kawagoe is Nagasaki for a school field trip. I've always looked at airplanes flying far above me, and saw news broadcasts and pictures about certain airlines. I always imagined that if I ever got on one, I would be flying in the so called economy or coach class. However, I didn't expect to find myself sharing a with Ai on an Airbus A380.

Singapore Airlines was famed for its extraordinarily luxurious flights, and the suite room that we shared proved it all. When I heard from Ai that each of our tickets costed her family around three-hundred-thousand Yen, my jaw dropped from absolute shock. It was no wonder why the people in the check-in counter didn't even care for the weight of my luggage, and treated me like I was some sort of celebrity by giving me this Private Room pass. At first, I thought that was just a Singapore Airline standard due to its reputation, but I didn't know Ai's parents weren't pulling any strings with this vacation of ours.

We were amongst the first to board the plane, and every single crew member personally greeted us, including the pilots. There were a three other strangers flying with us in the suites, one of them wearing rather casual clothes like me. After a brief guided-tour of the luxurious suite I was given, we decided to remove the partition of our two suites and create a double suite for the two of us to share. However, before our attendants made our beds, we had to prepare for liftoff. I strapped into my mobile recliner and turned the seat so that I could face Ai, who had her back turned to me for take-off purposes. I stared out my open window as I watched the massive airplane get on the runway. Ai seemed perfectly comfortable in her chair while I grew anxious, as it was my first time flying on an airplane.

"Is your fear of heights returning after so long?" she asked me, peering over the back of her seat.

"More like I've never flown in an airplane before. I got rid of that fear a long time ago. It was practically non-existent when I first stepped foot inside of ALO," I explained to her. "It can still be a bit dizzying, but that's when I'm on a ledge I can fall off of. You could very well say a plane counts."

"Don't worry, Katsumoto. We'll be fine."

As soon as she finished her sentence, I was pushed back into my seat as the plane accelerated forward. We moved quite slow at the start due to the plane's size, but we quickly picked up speed. The plane started shaking slightly, making me hold on more tightly to my seat. I felt the plane tilt upward slightly, and we started to lift off the ground. The force of gravity increased as I felt like I was being pulled into my seat. We ascended higher and higher into the air to the point where I could no longer see the treetops of the forest around the airport. We kept going higher and higher, and my view of Narita became smaller and smaller till I could only see the blue sky. Without warning, the plane started tilting to the right, and I grabbed onto my seat even tighter as to not shift in my seat. Thankfully, the angle didn't increase any further, and we eventually leveled off after a minute or so. Our ascent continued until we were above the clouds. I was finally able to relax when I heard a loud ding accompanied by the seat belt light turning off.

"See? That wasn't so bad!" Ai said, quickly getting off her seat to sit on top of our dual bed. "To be honest, landing is almost always rougher than take-off, so you have one more trial to overcome in this flight."

"Thanks for the heads-up, I guess…" I mumbled as I took off my seatbelt to join her.

"Shall we get something to eat?" she asked me, quickly grabbing the black menu from the drawer next to the chair. She opened the menu to reveal a variety of high-class options. "All the food they serve come from recipes of world-renowned chefs. We don't have much time, so you want to grab something to eat? Our tickets covered the cost of our dining."

"You can go ahead and order something for yourself. My appetite disappeared from lift-off…" I shuddered. I turned my gaze from the menu to my suite's nightstand. Three small black bags sat on top with two of them labeled as Lalique and the other as Bose. I grabbed all three bags and started opening them to see what's inside. "What are these?"

"They're amenities provided to us for our flight. I think we can keep the Lalique kit and clothes, but I'm not too sure about the Bose headphones. Both of us got the unisex amenity kit, but I'm going to ask for the female one."

"Jeez… Cologne, lip balm, lotion, soap and even a candle?"

"Hey, be grateful. It was only recently when Singapore Airlines expanded their reach almost globally. I heard the Philippines was especially difficult, though I do not know why."

Before we could continue our conversation, a flight attendant walked through the entrance of my suite, carefully holding a metal plate with four wine glasses and two bottles wine. Being very cautious, she set the plate down the top of my suite's drawer so as to not drop it.

"I apologize for forgetting about this for take off, but would either of you like to have a glass of champagne? We have the Dom Pérignon and the Krug?" she asked politely, showcasing the fancy bottles of wine.

"Just give me a glass of both," I requested.

"Same here please," Ai joined. "Oh, and is it too early for me to make an order?"

"Of course not." she answered as she handed us our glasses of champagne. "Our dining service is available to you at all times between departure and arrival. What may I get for you?"

"I'll have the roast rack of lamb," Ai ordered, taking a sip of the Dom Pérignon. Her eyes widened, and she pointed at her champagne glass out of surprise. "I'll have this to go along with it."

"Heh… And I remember the first time you tried alcohol. That was quite funny." I teased her, briefly remembering the face she made as she drank the atrocious rum Zachary had bought for us.

"Well, this one actually tastes good!" she pouted. Ai shoved into my chest, knocking some air out of me but not too much. "Go and order something already."

"All right, fine… I'll have the wagyu sirloin with eringi mushroom. I'll have sake to go along with it."

"I will return with your meals shortly," the lady said, bowing her head towards us before leaving with the plate and champagne bottles.

"Why not go for something that isn't Japanese?" Ai asked as she swished around the contents of her wine glass.

"Unlike you, I've never indulged myself in the luxuries of high-class cuisine. I'd rather start off with something I can relate to, and not ruin my future experiences with non-luxurious foreign food. Let's just be grateful we are here in the first place."

"Yeah…"

We raised our wine glasses to the air and clinked them together. A beautiful ringing sounded through the air, and the two of us indulged in the airborne paradise we found ourselves in.

* * *

I am now making the weekly updates on Mortifer's Journal also biweekly due to time constraints and lack of things to talk about, especially now with the SAO Alicization Anime on a lengthy hiatus.


	13. Chapter 9-4: 7k Gems of Unity & Memory

_The turbulence shook the plane violently, waking me up from my sleep. Dark red lights illuminated the cabin, making me assume we were in some dangerous situation. The rattling continued, making me even more worried as it was my first flight. When I turned to my side, I was surprised to see that Ai was still sleeping through all of this._

 _Despite being more than ten kilometers above the ground, it felt like I was in the middle of an earthquake. The lights of the plane flickered on and off, and the sound of thunder boomed outside of the plane, audible and loud. When I opened my window to take a quick peak, I noticed that we were in the middle of a storm. I grew even more concerned as I found it ridiculous and stupid for the airplane to fly into one in the first place, but I didn't have a chance to argue when a lightning bolt suddenly struck the plane, causing the left wing's engine to catch fire._

 _All lights in the cabin turned off, and the plane started tipping downwards. The oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling, and the emergency lights in the floor turned on. Realizing how dire the situation has become, I quickly went to wake up Ai, shaking her shoulder vigorously._

" _Ai! You need to wake up now!" I shouted into her ear. Any normal person should've woken up by now, yet she remained lying in bed. "Violet! I said wake up! Are you okay?! Is something wrong?!"_

 _I reached around her stomach, trying to get a hold of her so I could turn her over and force her up the bed. However, my hand slipped as a warm, slimy sensation coursed through my nerves. I managed to turn her so that she lied on her back instead of her side, but I couldn't see anything. I grabbed for my phone and quickly turning on its flashlight function. The moment I shone the light on Ai, I regretted my decision._

 _I hadn't noticed it before due to the dark red lights, but the entire area was covered with blood. My eyes glanced towards Ai's stomach where a broken champagne bottle had stabbed her multiple times. Her face was badly bruised, ruining the beauty that I saw not too long ago. The pupils of her dead eyes were dilated and her skin as white as now. I looked at my hands and noticed how bloody they were. My knuckles were swollen to great extents, and an image of me punching Ai flashed in my head. The Voices started screaming from the sight of my fiancé's corpse, and I started having a mental breakdown in the middle of this already chaotic situation._

" _It's just a dream! It's just a dream! It's just a dream!" I told myself repeatedly._

 _I was going to repeat it another hundred times when the plane suddenly tipped forward and started a nosedive. I was lifted up off the ground and pinned to the wall behind me. Ai's body got launched towards me, pinning me against the wall. Initially, I couldn't move a single muscle due to the g-force. After a few seconds, my body's inertia caught up with the plane's and I was able to move my limbs and push Ai away from me. I made my way to the window, grappling on any fixed location to move. Upon looking out the window, I noticed a great ocean ahead of the plane, splitting the view of the sky that I had into two. I wasn't even able to count to five when we made contact with the water, blacking out my entire world._

* * *

 **Several hours later, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines 8 PM**

The nightmare I experienced rattled my brain. When I woke up from it near the end of our plane ride, I had jumped awake so quickly that I startled Ai right next to me. She accidentally dropped her glass of champagne, but she managed to break its fall with a soft kick and prevented it from shattering on the floor. She asked if I was all right, and so I told her about the nightmare I had. When I told her about it, she wrapped my head in a warm hug whilst burying my face in her chest. 'We'll be fine' she told me back then.

As she had told me, the landing was much rougher than take-off. Thanks to some meditation to calm my mind, I was able to bare through the bumpiness of the ride as the pilots landed the massive aircraft we were in. Just like how we were amongst the first to get in the plane, we were the first to get out. I kept all the amenities that I could take with me per the suggestion of Ai, putting on some cologne before getting off the plane.

Customs didn't take too long since we were first to get out. However, when we were putting away our identification and return tickets back into our carriers, a whole horde of people appeared out of nowhere and made the once silent room loud with chaos. Our flight seemed to be fully booked as around eight-hundred people flooded into customs. Neither the foreigner and citizen lines were safe as there were equally as many in both, though the latter will obviously progress faster due to legal circumstances.

The first-class and suite-class passengers all advanced to the baggage claim area which took quite a while to start sending out the passengers' bags. Our group of twenty quickly turned into nearly a hundred by the time the first bag was sent out. It seemed that the luggage was not sent out by class either, as some of the business and even economy passengers got their bags before we did. Three minutes after the first bag came out, I found my single grey luggage bag. It took us another five minutes to finally pick up Ai's bag. When I went to get both bags from the conveyor belt, I felt many eyes staring intently at the both of us. No doubt it was because of Ai's upper-class aura. I grew cautious of the envious, almost murderous, eyes of the other passengers, so I made sure Ai stuck close to me and that I would be monitoring her luggage while she took care of mine. Afterward, we made our way out to rendezvous with Vincent, who apparently sent someone to come pick us up.

Walking out of the airport was even worse, as there were nearly ten times the amount of people waiting for family and friends outside than there were arriving passengers inside. I saw many Filipinos who looked at the two of us with rather shocked faces. I saw some gossiping, pointing and even following us as we traversed through the horde of people. Ai also grew weary of all the people staring at us, and so we decided to pick up our pace slightly. I now understood why celebrities needed a team of bodyguards in airports and other high-traffic public areas.

We tried going into a less populated zone in the terminal, but the only thing we did was attract more attention. We soon had a noticeable group following us. Some of them were taking pictures, making me conscious about my appearance but also of Ai's discomfort. Even worse were the suspicious individuals wearing baggy clothing, hats and face masks that had been stalking us since we arrived. When the looming presence of our stalkers grew too unbearable for Ai, we headed for the exit doors and took cover in the even more crowded exterior of the airport.

The air stank of the usual city smell, though it was far more prominent compared to downtown Tokyo. The streets were slightly dirty and worn at some parts, making the night scene even more unpleasant to the eyes. The pillars holding up the overpass above us were smeared with dirt and graffiti, made worse by the dripping water from what appears to be a recent rain shower. It was far louder outside with all of the car horns and shouts from airport traffic aides. There were many people present who were both waiting for a ride or preparing to head inside for a flight. A handful of people on the other side of the street seemed to be advertising their tourism businesses to other foreigners. There were many available locations to grab a taxi or a traveling van, but I avoided all of them and tried to seek out a hiding place for me and Ai.

We quickly ran into a big problem as much of the exterior was filled with people. The crowd we were trying to hide amongst grew too thick at times, slowing our escape from our pursuers. The presence of our followers only seemed to make matters worse as I overheard some people ask others in English if we were celebrities. I was debating whether we should go back inside so that we had space to run, but they would definitely follow us in there too. I was losing all hope of trying to get rid of our crazed and delusional followers when I suddenly heard someone shout on my left.

"Mortifer!" the voice called out from the direction of the street.

We stopped in our tracks so that we could both turn and see who had called out my in-game name amongst the crowd of people in a foreign country. On the other side of a crosswalk, I spotted a lone girl waving frantically towards my direction. She was definitely of Filipino descent and was dressed in business casual clothes as if she had just gotten off from work. When she acknowledged that I spotted her, she motioned for us to come to her with desperation painted on her face. She probably noticed that we were trying to escape the mass of people following us. Seeing that the traffic aide was about to temporarily close off the crosswalk to let cars pass, I picked up both of Ai's luggage carriers and lifted them off the ground. My arms strained from the weight, but I persevered and sprinted to the crosswalk with Ai following closely behind. We were midway across the street when the aide stopped anybody else from crossing, saving us from our stalkers.

" _If it weren't for that huge crowd following you guys, I would never have noticed you guys in such a huge crowd,"_ the girl spoke in clear English, though I detected a slight accent. " _I was wondering if a celebrity arrived for there to be so many people to be moving as a group, but now I see why. Did Vincent not warn you guys about bringing expensive items and the sort to the Philippines?"_

" _No, he didn't… I'm assuming this will cause a very big problem, won't it?"_ I responded.

" _In certain parts, it's close to a death sentence. However, you should be fine for the most part. Anyways, my name is Katherine. Katherine García. I'm Vincent's younger cousin. Now, let's hurry over to the van,"_ she said as she took one of Ai's bags and carried it for me.

" _Okay._ Ai, let's go," I told her, dragging her along with her Gucci carrier.

"Ehh? What's happening?" she asked, bewildered. "I didn't understand any of what you guys just said! Can we please talk in Japanese!"

"I don't think she knows Japanese that well Ai. If I don't talk in English, how are we ever going to manage to get around here?"

"Ugh… I need to get an English tutor when I get back."

"Don't worry about it. Watching you complain about your lack of English skills is kind of cute," I said, smiling.

"Oh…" Ai mumbled, blushing slightly. "If you say so then…"

" _Hurry you two! Vincent is waiting for you guys at your hotel!"_ Katherine shouted from ahead of us.

The three of us traversed the parking lot before stumbling upon a large white Toyota passenger van. Katherina unlocked the cars' doors and collapsed the back rows so that we could fit all of our luggage and carry-ons in the back without any problem. I headed for the left side of the car, planning to take the passenger seat to accompany Katherina while Ai sat behind us, but when I opened the door, I realized that I was at the driver's side.

" _Unlike you guys in Japan and the United Kingdom, we drive on the right side of the road. You'll get used to it in a bit,"_ Katherina teased me.

Feeling awkward and embarrassed, I went around the front and opened the passenger side door only to be met with a large bundle of papers and documents, along with a large handbag. As she was taking her seat, she looked at me apologetically, scratching her head before motioning me to go to the back with Ai. I closed the door and slid open the back one. I took a seat right next to Ai and relaxed as I got accustomed to the unique scent of the car.

" _It's going to be around half an hour to get to the Peninsula Manila hotel from here, so just relax and enjoy the ride."_


	14. Chapter 9-5: 7k Gems of Unity & Memory

**An hour later, the Peninsula Manila Hotel**

"I've never seen a hotel with a security gate," I told Katherine as I passed through the gate scanner, hoping I didn't forget anything on my person..

"You'll find security guards everywhere in the Philippines. It's our method of keeping crime low, I guess," she explained to me while being frisked by a female cop. "Now, let's hurry up. Vincent's already waiting for you guys at your room."

"Seems like putting his name down helped out after all."

The three of us retrieved our belongings from the conveyor belt, and strolled into the hotel, greeted by many friendly faces. I already saw bits of the inside from the entrance, but upon passing the threshold, I was absolutely mind-blown.

The Yuzuki family home in Kyoto was beautiful compared to other traditional Japanese homes as its garden and mountainside location gave it a natural beauty. The Yuzuki household in Setagaya was a very rare westernized mansion in the middle of the city, boasting its lavishness and grandeur to the relatively shabby homes around it. The plane ride we just had proved to be the most luxurious experience in my life with the champagne and world-class dishes being served to me several kilometers in the sky. However, the Peninsula Manila, whose front sign consisted of an imperial staircase waterfall fountain, topped both residences.

The lobby alone looked like the Yuzuki mansion. Dining tables dotted the room as the lobby was the hotel's restaurant as well. Many of the guests were dressed very exclusively like Ai, but I spotted a few people who dressed up as casual as I did. Waiters and waitresses dressed in very formal attire happily went around serving the guests. If they weren't busy, they would be conversing loudly amongst each other in their native language. A jazz band provided the people with entertainment on a second-floor balcony, getting much praise from the spectators. The three of us were quite stunned with the view, but we eventually broke out of the trance when one of the hotel staff members asked if he could be of assistance. The helpful man guided us to the receptionist desk where I gave them all of the documents Shitori had given me.

"Here are the keys to your suite Mr. Kirigaya," the lady receptionist said, giving me the keys while pointing to the man who helped us get to the desk. "I believe your friend is already waiting for you in the room. Mr. Reyes here will guide you to the suite room. Welcome to the Philippines, and please enjoy your stay in the Peninsula!"

Our guide Mr. Reyes politely bowed towards us while he began leading us through the maze that is the Peninsula. We ascended to the second floor and walked down a lengthy hallway, passing by many rooms in the process. The noise of the band faded in the distance, leaving only the sound of our footsteps and the wheels of our carriers We eventually made a turn into a smaller hallway that ended with a foyer to a unique double-door room. The doors were already open so our guide left without having to go through the trouble of unlocking the door. The three of us walked into the extravagant suite room, closing the door behind us to keep us hidden from possible peering eyes. A Yamaha grand piano sat in the room along with a very symmetrical furniture layout. The windows reached from the floor to the ceiling, giving us a full view of the city around us. On a tabletop next to the entrance, was a bucket of ice, a bottle of champagne, and three wine glasses for our taking.

I took a glass and poured myself a drink. Ai and Katherine followed my actions, relieving themselves of the luggage we were carrying the whole time. II made my way to the middle of the room to take a seat on the sofa. Before I did, I spotted a small backpack resting near the end of the couch. As I turned my gaze towards it, I caught a glimpse of something in the corner of my eye. I turned my head towards the direction of the object and found a man standing next to the window, looking down to the streets below as he swirled around the contents of his champagne glass.

"Despite all the years I've spent living here and passing by this place whenever I'm here in Metro Manila, I've never stepped foot in any of these five-star luxury hotels. I've always dreamed of living a life of grandeur like those in the upper-class. I never expected to reunite with you here of all places. You really went all out on this trip, didn't you Katsumoto?"

The man turned around, revealing a very familiar face. Despite the similar face structure, voice and posture, my mind almost tricked me into thinking it was someone else as his hair was drastically different from what it was six years ago. The extremely short, nearly buzz cut hairstyle, differed greatly from his long flowing hair back then. He wasn't wearing his glasses, making his eyes seem much bigger than ever. The most noticeable change was his size, as he grew quite noticeably in both height and muscle. Other than his face, he looked nothing like the scrawny Filipino kid from back then.

 _"It's nice to see you again, Katsumoto-san,"_ he greeted in Japanese. He walked towards me before turning his attention to Ai. _"Ah, you must be the girlfriend he spoke of. My name is Vincent. Vincent Bautista. May I ask what your name is?"_

 _"Yuzuki Ai,"_ she timidly responded. _"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bautista-san"_

 _"Please, just call me Vincent. If I may ask, are you fluent in English or can at least understand it to an extent?"_

Ai shook her head in response, causing Vincent slight disappointment though he quickly hid it with a smile.

 _"That's fine if you can't. I can still speak and understand Japanese quite well despite the lengthy hiatus, and we have Katsumoto to clear up any misunderstandings. I must say that Katsumoto has managed to catch a real beauty, and a rich one at that."_

 _"Oh, please… I'm not that pretty,"_ Ai blushed. _"All of this is just make-up."_

 _"Then I bet I'll see something much prettier underneath that mask of yours. Plus, I'm sure Katsumoto prefers girls with no make-up. Isn't that right?"_

 _"Yeah, I do. Though I do care a lot more about personality."_

 _"That's what they always say,"_ Ai muttered under her breath while looking to the side out of embarrassment.

 _"_ Vincent, I'll be heading back home," Katherine stated, setting the half-full glass down. "Will we see you for dinner?"

"Maybe. I haven't decided yet. Don't you want to stay for a bit longer? We don't get to experience luxuries like this too often."

"I'll pass. I don't want to get used to this kind of living style in our current situation. Plus, I'd rather not ruin their honeymoon for my selfish wants."

Without saying anything else, Katherine left the suite with haste, making Vincent a bit concerned and disappointed. Her footsteps echoed in the empty corridor before being silenced behind closed doors.

 _"Sorry about that. She gets jealous quite easily, and she's a bit grumpy right now. Today hasn't been too great for her…" Vincent weakly voiced out, giving me a feeling as if he had something to do with it._

 _"Why? What—"_

Ai was about to ask a question, but knowing what it was going to be, I stopped her. I gave her a look to let it go since it didn't seem like Vincent would even want to answer. The way she stormed out told me something must've happened between the two of them, but I didn't want to intrude and respected my privacy, making Ai do the same. Vincent gave me a weak smile, silently thanking me for stopping Ai, and I nodded my head to him.

" _Anyways, welcome to the Philippines. Right now we're in the city of Makati, the richest and most developed in the country. This will probably be the safest and cleanest place you'll find in the Philippines that is inhabited, but I can't make any guarantees, especially with… that..."_ Vincent said as he pointed at both Ai and her luggage, noticing her very expensive attire. " _It's my fault for not mentioning to not bring any valuables with you. But then again, I never expected you guys would bring any items of value._ "

" _I-I'm sorry for causing so much trouble… I-I didn't want to ruin the trip for myself, so I packed all of this. I didn't know it would be like this,_ " Ai apologized.

" _Well, as long as you guys be careful out in public. Thankfully, this city isn't as prone to theft as some others are due to the security, but that doesn't stop the most experienced, greedy and reckless of robbers. Now that I think about it, the same could be said for any place, so just scratch of everything except my warning to be careful._ "

" _I'm already cautious enough to begin with, but anything I should really look out for?_ " I asked him as I looked out the window to admire the nightlife of the city.

" _I'd automatically avoid taxi drivers with face masks on. Even so, be careful of taxi cabs in general. If you find yourself feeling unusually nauseous during your ride, either roll down the window or jump out right away. It's possible they drugged the air conditioning with chloroform or something of the sort."_

" _They can do that?!_ " Ai exclaimed, surprised at the methods of criminals.

" _This is the dark underground world of criminal scumbags we're talking about here. They're not here to play nice. It's just so unfortunate that there's so much corruption in this country to be unable to fix itself. It's not something as bad as Afghanistan or Syria, but we're definitely not as peaceful as Iceland._ "

" _I don't think it's fair to compare the peacefulness of a country like Iceland to a developing country hundreds of times larger._ " I pointed out to Vincent, making him chuckle slightly.

" _I guess you're right about that. Anyways, you get the general idea, but I suppose you're not staying in the mainland for long anyway."_

" _We'll be in the Philippines until the beginning of September when summer break ends for Ai. We'll be staying here to spend time with you, but we're going to this island called Siargao in a week and a half and spend most of our time there. We already made a reservation at the Nay Palad Hideaway."_

" _Nay Palad?! Man… And I thought I was going to need to help you guys out with some money spending… Exactly how big is your budget for this trip?"_ Vincent asked me, stupefied at my travel plans.

" _This trip is a gift from Ai's father. Since it's a gift for the both of us, he's willing to pay for a lot of money, but he didn't really specify how much. He gave me over ten million Yen worth of spending money for this trip, and that's not even including the amount we're paying for hotels, activities and such."_

" _You make even the richest of Filipinos seem average in comparison,"_ Vincent shuddered. " _Now, are you guys planning on doing anything tomorrow? I was thinking I'd give you guys a tour around the city and maybe eat out somewhere."_

" _Well, I thought that we'd spend our first day just sightseeing and looking for activities in the hotel. They apparently have some nice restaurants in the ground floor, a spa, pool and something called a jeepney that gives us a tour around the city. But, since you offered, we may as well take it. What do you think Ai?"_

" _I-I kind of want to see how life is like here. I think I heard Katherine-san say something about coming to dinner? If she was talking about having dinner at your place, then I would love to do so!"_ Ai answered, showing great enthusiasm. Vincent, however, looked concerned.

" _Oh, uh, about that… I don't think we have enough space for you guys,"_ Vincent stated. " _I live with both my grandparents and my cousin's family, so we won't have enough space on the table."_

" _How many siblings does she have?"_ I asked, wondering how big their families were to not have space.

" _She… Doesn't have siblings… We really just don't have the space."_

His strange answer piqued my interest even more, but I decided not to dwell on it any longer. I shrugged my shoulders and expressed my desire to stop the conversation to Ai by holding her hand and shaking my head slightly. She nodded her head in response.

" _That's fine then. I guess tomorrow we'll take a tour around the city and maybe go shopping. Are there any shopping malls nearby?"_ I asked.

" _Go and check Greenbelt. It's walking distance from here, though if you guys want to go on some crazy shopping adventure, you can take a cab to some SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia or SM City North EDSA."_

" _Is this SM thing some major retailing company here in the Philippines?"_

" _They're not just into retail. They're one of the largest Philippine conglomerates and are known for their shopping malls. The three I named you are the three biggest malls in the Philippines. I'm sure you'll have fun there, but if you're looking to shop for clothes, I think the Greenbelt should do. Anyways, is that all you need from me today? I really need to get back now."_

Vincent went over to the couch and picked up the backpack that had been sitting there. He swung it over his back and checked his wristwatch for the time. He pulled out his phone and started frantically texting on it.

"If you need to go Vincent, just go," I urged him. "Your family should come first before everything else."

"That's kind of ironic coming from you, but I can tell you've changed so I'm not going to tease you any more than that. _Goodbye, Ai-chan, Katsumoto."_

" _Goodbye, Vincent-san. See you tomorrow!"_ Ai smiled, waving as she watched the man sprint out of the hotel room. His footsteps boomed loudly down the hallway but quickly became too far to be heard. " _He seems like a really nice guy."_

" _He's changed a lot since then, but yeah, he's the nicest guy I've ever met. So, what do you want to do for the rest of the night?"_

" _I'm getting a bit hungry. How about we go to that French restaurant in the hotel?"_

 _/_

 _/_

 _/_

Ha, did I say May 27th to you guys? I'm sure you guys already know that I don't necessarily follow through with my plans. If you were in my Discord channel, maybe you could've seen the messages I said about posting on the 27th of June. Obviously, that's not the case either, so here is my chapter on the 10th of July.

While I do feel guilty about taking forever with this chapter, I've just been hitting some serious writing blocks in the dialogue parts of this chapter. I know when and where things will happen for this chapter, but I never really got the how part, or anything in-between. I can just skip a lot of dialogue and try to pick up the pace, but it doesn't suit the style of this story, so I'll try my best not to fast forward too much.

While writer's block has always been a major obstacle for me, what made me take so long is the fact that I went on a vacation to the Philippines for a few weeks. After all, that's happened in the past year, my family deemed it helpful and necessary for me to go back home for just a little bit. I definitely enjoyed my time there with the rest of my family. I did also do some researching for my story so I can get a better grasp of things there. I collected lots of photos of both the good and bad of the Philippines, as well as photos of the actual Peninsula Manila hotel. And for once in my life, I actually enjoyed shopping for clothes because stores actually have my size in this country (I'm a pretty small guy). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to Siargao since we spent most of our time on a different island. However, that's not stopping me from researching and brainstorming for hours as to how I will execute the future parts of this chapter.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this rather short sub-chapter. If you haven't already, join the discord I created specifically for these stories. You can either ask me questions or just chat with me from there. And for the sake of my own health, I won't be saying much about what happened regarding my attempted suicide since recalling everything takes too much brainpower, and I need it for my stories and video games.

See you next time!

 **Word Count: 2.4k words**

 **\- Mortifer V**


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